Wait for Me: Following
by Fire and Sand
Summary: Naruto's gone? Sasuke's not going to stand for that. He's going to bring him back. And Sakura's well again with a decision that will change the fate of Team 7. Onesided SakuSasu SasuNaru KakaSaku
1. Prologue: Ghosts of the Past

Fire: Hello everyone! This is Fire and this is my co-writer, Sasuke. (gestures to an empty space) Well...I guess he's not around right now, so it's a good thing that I have my other co-writer, Naruto. (gestures to other side, and another empty space) Okay... (sweats) I guess he's not here either...but they'll be back! I swear! In the meantime, Kakashi's going to fill in for them, so...here's Kakashi!

Kakashi: Yo! (waves)

Sakura: And there's me! (bright beaming smile)

Fire: Welcome to _Wait for Me: Following_, the second book in the _Wait for Me_ series. Don't worry, each story stands up on their own, but if you read them all together, you'll get the big picture a lot better, and you'd probably understand each story a lot better too. The first book would be _Wait for Me: Leaving_ so if you're a little confused about how everything became what it is at the beginning of this story, check it out. All yaoi in the story is completely necessary to the storyline in the series—and just because I wanted to write a SasuNaru--so don't hate me if you don't like the pairings. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Kakashi: (sighing slightly at Fire) You're talking too much.

Fire: (ignoring Kakashi and smiling) Well...one more note before we continue. All my stories come with morals, or lessons concerning their main genre. Since this series is a romance, these four books—if you include the prequel as a part of the series—all have morals concerning romance. I'll be posting the moral at the end of the last chapter of each book. Now—

Sasuke: —on with the story before Fire can talk some more!

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Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei and all I have is Naruto stock. :( I do own something although it's not being used in this part of the story. I'll remind you when it comes up.

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Warning: Use of Japanese terms is used specifically for artistic purposes. If you need a glossary of all the terms, go to my user profile. It's there.

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**Legend:**

Text

_'Thoughts'_

**_Hidden speech that not everyone can hear, like Kyuubi's, Shukaku's, or Samehada's_**

_flashbacks_

"speech"

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**Wait for Me: Following**

**A Fire Project**

**Prologue: Ghosts of the Past**

**N**aruto was dead. Sasuke was dead. It was hard to stomach, but it was true. And Sakura...she couldn't handle it, so she left. That was all.

But they had died happy...well, not with a smile on their faces, but relatively content. Sasuke had killed his brother at the cost of his own life, and Naruto just wanted to go with him. As for Sakura...Kakashi had no idea what happened to her.

'_My thoughts are beginning to sound more and more like epitaphs...'_ the grey-haired jounin thought as he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. Godaime had given him some time off to get over the death of his students, but his mind had already gotten over what his heart still pined through. His mind was preoccupied with Sakura...and where she was...

The note that she had left on the Icha Icha Paradise books was still there. He had already read it over thirty times. It was smart to leave it there–he couldn't have missed it–but he had more than one copy of that book and he didn't always come home. She could have left it there at any time...

_Gomen...Kakashi-sensei. I really tried...but I can't be the kunoichi that I had hoped to be. Please, don't blame yourself. You were a great sensei and I feel honoured to have been your student. Take care of Kasan and Tousan for me...and Tsunade-shishou... Tell them that... Tell them whatever you can think of to ease their pain. And, don't worry about me. I'll be fine._

_Sakura_

He had it memorized. _'She couldn't be the kunoichi that she had hoped to be... She'll be fine... That doesn't tell me anything...'_ He has been trying to think of what Sakura might have been trying to tell them, but he still couldn't figure out the hidden meaning to her words. The girl was too smart. She was hiding something in those words, and he had to find out what it was.

**S**akura's heart was pounding hard that day when she left Konoha. It wasn't easy to leave her family, her friends, Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-shishou. This village was where she was born, where she had lived, and where she had hoped to die one day...but, that wasn't going to happen now.

'_I am an avenger.'_ It was Sasuke's voice in her head, but it was slowly becoming her own. _'That cenotaph in Konoha... Sasuke... Naruto... I promise...'_

She will bring them back.

**End Prologue**

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Fire's babbling:

Fire: Still interested? Continue to chapter 1. If not, then, close the window. It's up to you.

Kakashi: (in sensei-mode) You're not supposed to tell people to close the window.

Fire: (matter-of-fact) Well...you and Sakura don't really have that many fans, Kakashi. She doesn't exactly come across as a very capable kunoichi...

Sakura: I'll show you! I'm more than capable!

Fire: They might just wait a little while until Naruto and Sasuke come back into the storyline...

Sakura: (still yelling) They're dead! How can they come back!

Fire: You'll see...

Sakura: Oo Are you kidding me...?

Kakashi: …

Fire: (smiling) Read on to find out... English tidbits start in chapter 1. Remember to review!

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	2. One: Whispers of the Sakura

Fire: It's me! Guess there are people interested in reading about you, Sakura...

Sakura: I told you! (mumbling under breath) Stupid Fire...worse than Naruto...

Kakashi: (sulking) Why am I ignored again…?

Fire: (not hearing a word Kakashi had said) Did you remember to review? Well...no pressure here...

Sakura: They're not here to listen to you talk!

Fire: (sweats) Okay... Well...on with the story!

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Disclaimer: Do I really have to repeat myself…? Read the disclaimer in the prologue, but nothing that I own is popping up yet. Just wait a little while longer.

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**Chapter 1: Whispers of the Sakura**

**T**he only chair in the Hokage office creaked anxiously as its master leaned back against it. Then, it creaked again as she turned to the window once more. Then, back.

Tsunade was worried. She couldn't help that she was worried. Her fingers wound subconsciously around the necklace that she had received from her grandfather, and which had belonged to Naruto not too long before. She really had thought that it wouldn't return to her this time. She had thought that Naruto was different.

But her worries distracted her from that recurring thought. It was raining again, but this time, the storm blew from a different direction. Akatsuki had died down for now, but she knew that it would rise up again soon. Just because two of their members were dead didn't mean anything to them. It was only a minor setback.

But, the danger wasn't from Akatsuki. This time, she was worried about Orochimaru, and a certain mission report which she held in her hand.

_Objective: To gather information relating to the current activities of one of the Legendary Sannin known as Orochimaru._

Here there was a list of updates reporting on Orochimaru's activities. He was a threat to them, and she had sent more than one reconnaissance team to Otogakure to keep an eye on him. They have had the location of that hidden village since Sasuke's return, and she had made good use of it.

_Update: As of the 23rd of August, all activity in Otogakure has been at a minimum. There still seem to be no movement on Orochimaru's part. _

_Update: As of the 26th of August, a mysterious cloaked figure approached Orochimaru's compound in Otogakure. More information to come._

Then, no more.

The blond woman sank back in her seat. She wasn't too sure she liked the idea of such news at such a date. The twenty-sixth of August... That wasn't too long after Sakura disappeared. She didn't want to think about it, but she had to be open to the possibility...because a nukenin like Sakura didn't really have many places to go, and there wasn't a chance that the kunoichi would go to Akatsuki. If she was going to go to Orochimaru, it would take her exactly...

Tsunade shook her head, cleared it quickly of those thoughts. Sakura had more sense than that! She had to believe that the pink-haired kunoichi wouldn't do anything like that. She trusted that Sakura wouldn't do something so completely brainless...

But, deep down inside, there was a part of Tsunade that worried about it as well. That was the part that doubted her apprentice. If worse comes to worst, Orochimaru was the only one who could give her what she wanted.

**K**akashi closed his eyes against the dull light that shone in through his bedroom window. It was raining again, and the sound of pelting rain against his glass windows drew a rhythmic boredom through the air. It wasn't enough to distract him.

His mind raced with a million thoughts, none of them pleasant. Naruto and Sasuke's recent deaths only served to bring about old memories, all of them bad. Rin...Obito...there was fresh pain in his chest to mix with the old. He had promised that he wouldn't allow anyone else on his team to die. The fact that he couldn't keep that promise was hurting him more than anyone could know.

And while thoughts swamped his mind and his heart bled with new pain, his inner eye focussed only on a single image. Tsunade had given him missions lately as he had requested, so that he could take his mind off everything that had happened. They weren't difficult missions, only a few high C-ranked and lower B-ranked missions, easy missions for a jounin of his skill to accomplish. But...

_A cloaked figure, walking steadily toward Otogakure. There was no urgency in each step, only a slowly continuous pace. And..._

_Small tufts of bright pink hair could be seen from beneath the hood, although the figure's head was lowered so that he couldn't see so well. There was a roundish childlike face beneath that hood. That much he could see even with the face facing downward and the hood covering it._

_And there was only one thought in his mind... Was that Sakura?_

That thought still plagued him, screaming out amongst the millions more thoughts that ran through his mind. If that was her, what was she doing there? What was she doing at Otogakure? Why did she leave without telling any of them? Why did she leave so abruptly? Why Orochimaru?

Kakashi stared at his bedroom ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes again. There was something that he hadn't told Tsunade. It wasn't necessary to put it in the report. It wasn't something that they, that she, that the Hokage needed to know...

_Kakashi leapt down before the cloaked figure could reach the short series of steps leading down to the entrance of Orochimaru's home. If it really was Sakura, he couldn't just let her go to Orochimaru. _

_The two foreign figures in Oto stood facing each other. There was no one else around for now, and he could be sure that he would be safe. At the moment, he just needed to know one thing. The pink hair... It couldn't possibly be..._

"_Step aside," the cloaked figure said, and sure enough, it was the voice of a young girl. Her thin hand reached out to sweep Kakashi aside. "I have no business with you!"_

_Kakashi felt intense strength toss him aside. He fell uncontrollably against a tree before sliding to the ground, his limbs suddenly like heavy blocks of lead. A young girl with immense strength... It had to be Sakura, right? Only Sakura could do that...having learned it from Tsunade._

"_S–Sakura-chan!" Kakashi felt his voice shake a little, but it was enough to make the cloaked figure stop before stepping down on the first step._

"_Gomen," the figure said, her voice cold with frozen sadness. "I don't know any Sakura." And she walked down to the entrance and disappeared inside before Kakashi could make her say anything more._

"Sakura..." he said as he turned over, sat up to look solemnly at their team picture on his windowsill, the note she had written to him propped up against the picture frame.

'_...was that really you?'_

**O**rochimaru tried to see the face of the cloaked figure that stood not too far from him, but the hood that rose from the thick brown cloak hid the face perfectly. "Kabuto, who is this?" His voice was smooth and calm, like it always was. It betrayed none of the curiosity that had risen in his chest along with annoyed anger at the interruption.

"A guest, Orochimaru-sama," the silver-haired medic-nin said, pushing his round glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose. He had met her as she walked through their fake entrance. It would never really be that easy to get into Oto. "She requested an audience with you." But having seen her face, he wasn't sure if his master would want to see her or not. She was...not someone that his master was usually interested in.

"A...guest?" Orochimaru looked directly at the cloaked figure. There was something about this person that reminded him of...Tsunade. Why? "And what would be the name of our...guest?"

Slowly the cloaked figure looked up at Orochimaru, pale aqua-green eyes meeting gold before she spoke. "Haruno Sakura."

**End Chapter 1**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

"Whose" and "Who's." I know that it's a little confusing sometimes but both are real words depending on the context. "Whose" is the possessive form of "who," like "his" is the possessive form of "he" and "her" is the possessive form of "she." The word "who's" is a compound word made out of a contraction like the English "don't" is a contraction of "do" and "not." "Who's" is a contraction of "who" and "is." For example, "Whose sensei is Kakashi?" is correct while "Who's sensei is Kakashi?" is incorrect. "Who's the new Hokage?" is correct and "Whose the new Hokage?" is incorrect. The trick is to change the contraction to its long form or switch to another possessive form. "Who is sensei is Kakashi?" doesn't make sense while "Who is the new Hokage?" makes more sense than "Her the new Hokage?" That's all. See you in the next chapter. If "Her the new Hokage" actually made sense to you, consult an English teacher/professor/expert/specialist.

Fire's babbling:

Fire: Arrgh! I hate writing cliffhangers!

Kakashi: Then why did you write it?

Fire: Arrgh! I don't know!

Kakashi: (sighs) Baka…

Fire: I know that it's a little mysterious and slow at the moment, but it picks up in the third chapter. I'm still putting down all the foundation for the story. Rising action is an important part of plot development.

Kakashi: Leave it for the English tidbits.

Fire: (sighs) Fine…

Kakashi: Good. (turns back to the audience) Now remember to review…but not too much. I still have to carry the Bag of Reviews.

Fire: I'm going to go look for Sasuke… (slinks away)

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	3. Two: Ambition of the Sakura

Fire: This is me again, and here's my trusty co-writer!

Kakashi: Fine… Don't clap for me…

Fire: (sweats) Um…where's Sakura?

Kakashi: (smiling innocently) I have no idea…

Fire: That's supposed to be a bad thing.

Kakashi: Here's a review. (hands Fire a window)

Fire: (reads the window) …

Kakashi: (smiling) …

Fire: Uh…this isn't a review.

Kakashi: I know. I just wanted you to stop asking me questions.

Fire: Fine. (closes the review window) I'll stop asking questions.

Kakashi: Good. Now, here's a real review. (hands Fire a window from the Big Bag of Reviews)

Fire: Yay! A real review! (turns to the audience) Thanks for your support.

Kakashi: I'm going to go sulk in the corner.

Fire: Are you thinking about Obito again!

Kakashi: Bye…

Fire: Well, I know this story is very Sakura centric. I'm focussing on her emotions toward Sasuke at the moment, but don't worry, Sasuke and Naruto will be back before you know it.

Kakashi: (mumbling in the corner) Obito… Rin…

Fire: Uh…you should ignore him and read the story now. And review!

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Addition to the first Disclaimer: Nothing has changed except that I own the Big Bag of Reviews. Don't steal it otherwise Kakashi won't be able to find my reviews. He keeps them all in there!

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Warning: If Sakura seems OOC at any point in the story, please go to _Wait for Me: Aku no Yami_ to find out what happened during the month between leaving Konoha and arriving in Oto.

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**Chapter 2: Ambition of the Sakura**

**T**here was an urgent knocking on the door to the Hokage office, and Tsunade wasn't too happy about being pulled away from another important document. She has had less and less time to nap like she used to. All this strange and important information that came at the disruption of Akatsuki, with the deaths of two of their most important members... All this strange and important information that came at the disruption of her village, with the deaths of two of their most important shinobi... "Come in!" She couldn't help but be a little irritated. _'This had better be important.'_ She was in no mood for distractions today.

"Godaime!" Kakashi rushed into the office. In fact, he was a little surprised that she wasn't sleeping on the job, but then, he couldn't expect her to laze around all the time. She was supposed to be the Hokage after all, and she had important things to do. "I have..." He tried to catch his breath. He had run all the way here when he realized it. "...I have...important news!" He hadn't even thought that he could just shunshin here. That would have been faster, and easier on his lungs.

"Does this have anything to do with your report?" Tsunade asked, not too concerned with what he was saying. Impatience saturated her voice. She wasn't in the mood to listen to mindless talk at the moment. "You did say that there was more information to come..."

"It– It's Sakura!" He caught the blond woman's attention right away. "Sakura was there!" He wasn't sure before, but he was sure now. The voice in his head...the voice of that cloaked figure...that was definitely Sakura's voice!

"There? Where?" Tsunade was slow to accept that he could have seen Sakura anywhere. She has been missing for almost a month now. She had said that she didn't want to be a shinobi anymore...that was what Kakashi had said she had said. In respect to Sakura's wishes, the blond woman had actually left off searching for the nukenin. She knew that it wasn't correct procedure, but she couldn't just pull the pink-haired girl back so easily, especially if Sakura didn't want to be a shinobi anymore. Could the grey-haired jounin had heard wrong?

"With...Orochimaru! She was at Otogakure!" He could barely spit it out. Oto... That wasn't somewhere that a kunoichi of Sakura's disposition and stature should be!

"No. Impossible!" Tsunade rejected the idea right away. That wasn't possible! Sakura had left them...had left Konoha to become a regular person. She didn't want to be a shinobi. She didn't want to be a kunoichi. That was what she had said, and that was what Tsunade had to believe! "She's too smart to go to someone like Orochimaru." Even if she knew that Sakura was too strong to quit being a shinobi so easily... The Sakura that she knew would never just give up.

But if she did go to him...why? Why would she go to someone like Orochimaru? There was no way that her fears could be so...accurate.

'_If worse comes to worst, Orochimaru is the only one who could give her what she wanted.' _Wasn't that it? That was what she had thought when she first read Kakashi's report.

"Kakashi, put together a reconnaissance team. We need more information." This was just a hunch, built on the suspicion and memory of a jounin who was too emotionally involved in this situation. She couldn't trust that he had remembered correctly. "Have them report to me as soon as possible." And she might just be basing this mission entirely on what she feared. But she couldn't just leave it alone. She couldn't just allow Sakura to do something so horribly wrong. Even a blind shinobi on the brink of death shouldn't want to join Orochimaru so willingly. "Dismissed!"

Kakashi didn't leave though. He stood in front of Tsunade's desk, a determined expression on his face. "Hokage-sama..."

Tsunade looked back to Kakashi, a document slowly crumpling in her hand. She would have been angry if it wasn't for the fact that she knew what he was going through a lot better than he would have thought. Even if he was going to suppress his emotions...she knew that it would still be difficult to forget them. They were the first genin team in a long while that Kakashi had managed to accept. And then, they were just a team. Team Kakashi, wasn't it?

"What is it, Kakashi?"

"I–I want to lead that team." This shakiness was uncharacteristic of Kakashi. Usually, he was so sure of himself. Tsunade's mind caught onto this uneasiness before anything else. Before even the words. This ordeal was pulling long forgotten memories into his mind.

But then, the words registered in her mind. Tsunade blinked for a moment as she tried to make sense of it. _'Team? What team did he mean? The team to infiltrate Otogakure?'_

"No," she said simply before turning back to the binder in her hands. "Request denied." He was the best person for the job. She couldn't deny that, but he was too emotionally invested in this. He might get himself killed. Hell, he might get everyone on his team killed!

"If you won't let me go, I'll go anyway." There was no way for her to really stop him. "I need to know." He would just go to Otogakure on his own if that was what it came to. He didn't care. He just needed to know if that was Sakura. He needed to bring her back, where she belonged. A Konoha-nin was born with the will of fire. She couldn't just abandon Konoha that easily.

"You'll know when they return."

"No! I have to see it with my own eyes!" He didn't know what was coming over him. His own eyes... That was true. He had to see that Sakura really did decided to do it. Power... Was that really more important than her own happiness? Than the future she could have still had here in Konoha? As a kunoichi of the Leaf? More important than her family...than the village she grew up in...than the precious people left in her life who cared about her...? He just couldn't believe that someone with the will of fire could abandon all that they stood for!

"You've done enough as it is. I can't allow you to go." She handed a mission to Kakashi. "If you want a mission, we have one that is much more suitable to your abilities."

Kakashi slammed the paper on Tsunade's desk, startling her, and startling him even more. He hadn't thought that he would have to resort to this. "I've seen the cloaked figure. I would know!" It was a desperate ploy by a desperate man.

Tsunade looked up at the jounin, a slight smile on her face. She had already considered that but... _'If I don't let him go, he'll go anyway...?'_ She pulled the mission she had just given to him back from the edge of the desk. "Looks like I can't stop you, Kakashi." She smoothed it out in her hands before replacing it in the pile of missions to be handed out later. "You'll lead the team. Now, get out of here before I change my mind!" She looked at him with cold eyes. She might just change her mind. The idea of putting him on a mission such as this...one which could very well pit him against not only a former student of his, but also Orochimaru–someone he could never hope to defeat–was a bad idea altogether.

**T**he pale man leaned back in his chair. Jars of miscellaneous items sat on shelves all around them, but the pink-haired girl's gaze was unwavering. There was no interest in anything else in the room other than the man sitting in front of her.

"Sakura...hmm?" Orochimaru could clearly see the resemblance in this girl to Tsunade. "A...Konoha-nin?" He couldn't resist asking. The girl reminded him too much of a certain blond girl who used to follow him around Konoha, of Tsunade. Even as he sat with his imperial air around him, he couldn't help thinking about the blond woman.

"Yes."

The pink-haired girl's answer was unwavering, not a hint of fear or apprehension in her voice. It was...annoying.

"Do you know who I am?" Anger bubbled in his chest. Girls... They were too weak for him to use... He hardly understood why he was even listening to this _girl._

"Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konohagakure." The reply was short and to the point. "Do you know who _I_ am?" The question defiantly mirrored Orochimaru's own words, and it was irritating him. Her words were too confident. It reminded him too much of that blond woman.

"No, and I don't care. Kabuto, remove her."

But before he could even lay a hand on her, Sakura smacked the spectacled nin away easily with a single blow. Kabuto fell to the ground, his shoulders stunned where she had hit him. His limbs, his torso, all of him couldn't move. He was paralysed...for the moment at least.

"It's only temporary, but if you move, I will make sure you won't get up," Sakura said, her voice cold as she looked down at the grey-haired man. She was a medic-nin with more than fifty books of medical knowledge stored in her brain. She could easily paralyse him with a single hit. The nerve she had hit just now was nothing compared to what she could have done. Tsunade-shishou had taught this technique much more extensively to her.

And it was more than what he deserved. She could never let go of the dense hatred that filled her entire being. This man–she turned back to Orochimaru–and this man here were the two people responsible for taking Sasuke away from her. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't have to be here. She could just be the happy, cheerful, carefree medic-nin of Konoha.

She stared directly at Orochimaru. There was not a doubtful drop of her superiority in her mind. She was better than them, not physically but morally she was stronger than them. That was what she had to remember, even as the cheerful girl that housed her body only a month before when Sasuke and Naruto were still alive melted away. Now, there was only the avenger.

And it was that avenger that Orochimaru was interested in.

He leaned forward in his seat. "No. I don't know who you are, and I don't care." Slowly, his interest was returning.

Sakura frowned.

"You seek power, yes?"

Sakura was silent.

"You want me to give you this power?"

Again, silence.

Orochimaru smiled broadly. They were getting back to the topic he knew better than anyone. These kinds of people–even if they were female–were so easy to control. "What are you planning to do with this power?"

Kabuto watched from his place on the ground, a hand pushing the glasses back up onto his face. This girl...she was one of the teammates on Uchiha Sasuke's team. She knew about the power that Orochimaru could bestow, and the consequences of this power...and she still wanted it? He couldn't think of what she would want it for...

But, Sakura knew exactly what she wanted power for. She had a month to think about it, and she had come up with her decision.

_With leaden feet, the girl dragged herself across the countryside. It wasn't difficult, wasn't supposed to be difficult, but the slow progress that she had made only served to annoy her. She knew what she had to do...but she was still reluctant to do it._

_She lifted her face from her dirt-stained sandals to the path before her. Within her mind, she had come to two conclusions. She has had a month to think about what she was going to do, had thought over everything that had happened. Since the incident with Akatsuki back in July, she hadn't allowed anything to escape her memory._

_First of all, she would have to kill Orochimaru. The man had never sat right in her stomach, and she wasn't going to let him go just because Sasuke was gone. No. That just made her hate him more. If it wasn't for him, Sasuke would never have thought that he might be strong enough to defeat his brother. Then Sasuke might have...stayed with her._

_Then, she had to destroy Akatsuki. It was a farfetched idea, and she would probably fail, but she had to try, even if she died in the process. It was their fault. It was their fault that Sasuke had to work so hard to defeat Itachi. They made Itachi even stronger, and they made the situation worse. If it wasn't for them, Sasuke could have killed his brother right away and returned to her._

_If only..._

_If only she wasn't so weak..._

_If only she still had Sasuke and Naruto with her..._

"Destruction," she said simply.

And Orochimaru's smile only spread further across his pale face. "Destruction..." That was a pretty shaky subject... "...of what?" ...but this girl had some potential...like that of another kunoichi he had once known. He could definitely control someone like this.

'_Destruction of everything that killed my happiness... Destruction of Akatsuki... Destruction of you...Orochimaru.' _ But, Sakura didn't reply.

**End Chapter 2**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

This one is more of a writing tidbit. Finish what you start. I know that it sounds a little stupid to be mentioning it, but I mean finish EVERYTHING! That means, even if the story you're working on is horrible and you plan to never post it, you should still finish it. Give it an ending, even if it sucks. That way, you'll get a chance to develop your writing style. You'll get what works for you and what doesn't work. And it's good practice too. Besides, you can always use parts of stories you don't post for future stories, or you can write side stories to it that make more sense, etc. You never know when you'll get inspiration. It might be while you're finishing up one of those useless stories you never plan to post.

Fire's babbling:

Kakashi: O.o Nani?

Fire: (sighing) What is it this time?

Kakashi: Sakura's really joining up with Orochimaru? That's not possible!

Fire: Keep your friends close and your enemies…

Kakashi: Sakura won't be able to kill him!

Fire: …closer.

Kakashi: …

Fire: … (glares at Kakashi) You spoke over me, didn't you?

Kakashi: Uh…yes?

Fire: Don't talk over me! (smacks Kakashi across the face only to reveal a kawarimi) Arrgh!

Kakashi: (looking around furtively before sneaking away) …

Fire: (mumbling under breath) Baka Kakashi… Baka shinobi… (kicks the kawarimi clear across the room) I need a new cowriter. (looks around and grabs Lee) You're helping me now!

Lee: Yes. Of course, I'd be glad to help! (smile and thumb's up)

Fire: Now I can finally fire Kakashi. (smile)

Lee: (slumps) You're going to fire Kakashi-sensei? (tries to sneak away)

Fire: Fine! (grabs Lee by the back of his collar before he could get away) I won't fire him!

Lee: (relieved sigh) Good. (looks at the story) And Sakura-san is going to kill Orochimaru? But how will–

Fire: (snapping) Just read it! I already explained it to Kakashi! (turns back to the audience before Lee can say anything else) Review. Review. And Review again. I need feedback!

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	4. Three: Tears of the Sakura

Fire: People are still reading… (sniff) I'm so happy…

Sasuke: (looking closely with a contorted expression on his face) Are you trying to cry?

Fire: (sniff) What makes you think that?

Sasuke: You don't cry.

Fire: (lightening up again) Oh! Right!

Sasuke: (sigh) Now, when are you planning to put Naruto and me back into the story? It's taking forever! (fuming in anger)

Fire: (holding up hands in defense) Soon, I swear!

Sasuke: (looking speculatively at Fire) How soon is "soon?"

Fire: (thinks for a little while) I think about chapter 6…

Sasuke: (annoyed anger) That's not soon enough.

Fire: Well…I have to explain how you come back. You're dead, Sasuke!

Sasuke: (grabs the Bag of Reviews from Kakashi and hands a review to Fire) Here. Read the reviews so we can get on with the story.

Fire: (scans over the window) Sasuke…did you write me a review?

Sasuke: What makes you think that?

Fire: This says Sasuke.

Sasuke: …

Fire: I already told you that you're not going to be back yet!

Kakashi: (grabs the Bag of Reviews back from Sasuke) Real reviews only, Sasuke. (hands Fire a real review)

Fire: (looks at the window) And this window is blank… (shouts) Kakashi! You're playing around too!

Kakashi: (smiling mischievously) I couldn't resist. (hands Fire a real review, really this time)

Fire: (reads the window with an annoyed sigh) Kakashi, I thought you'd be more mature.

Kakashi: Is that what the review says?

Fire: No. The reviewer says that she likes reading about Sakura for a change, without turning her into a villain since it's a SasuNaru.

Kakashi: The reviewer's a girl?

Fire: That's what it says on the reviewer's user profile.

Kakashi: Nothing about me?

Fire: Nope.

Kakashi: (slumps) What?

Fire: Well, I'm sure you don't want to see Kakashi sulk, so read the next chapter!

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Disclaimer: Read the previous chapters' disclaimers. I want to stop writing these. They're redundant.

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**Chapter 3: Tears of the Sakura**

**A**nko looked up suddenly at Kakashi. She was only listening to him passingly until he said the one word that made her ears perk up in attention. "What? What did you say about Orochimaru?" Her old sensei... What did Kakashi want to do to her old sensei?

Kakashi sighed slightly. He had walked all over Konoha looking for the people he knew would be an asset to his team, and he had spent the better part of fifteen minutes explaining to Anko what the mission was and what they needed to do, and why they needed to do it. And she hadn't heard a word he had said.

"I'm forming a team for a reconnaissance mission to Otogakure. Orochimaru's going to be there, so I need someone who knows him well." The one visible eye on the grey-haired jounin's face was serious as he looked at Anko. He needed someone who knew how Orochimaru thought, especially since they were avoiding him. "You were a former student of his, so I thought of you, naturally. But, this isn't mandatory. If you don't want to come, I won't force you." She knew the Orochimaru of almost two decades ago. Was that even the same man?

Anko took another bite of a dango ball and slid it off its stick. "Who else is coming?" She was coming–of course she was coming–but she wanted to know who was there for backup. She wanted to kill Orochimaru with her own two hands, even if it was unlikely that she would get that chance now.

'_If I'm going to fight him, I'll need a good team to back me up in case...'_ Her hand flew up to her neck. It wasn't there at the moment, but if she was to go near Orochimaru again, the cursed seal might...

But Anko was getting ahead of herself. She wasn't going to be there to kill Orochimaru, and she reminded herself that as she looked at Kakashi again. She still wanted to know who was coming, and she didn't want to miss a single name.

"Sarutobi Asuma and the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya," Kakashi said slowly. He had run into Jiraiya right outside the Hokage office, and he had offered to go with them. "Can't fight a Sannin without a Sannin," was what he had said. Kakashi was just repeating it for Anko.

And Asuma... Orochimaru killed his father. Of course, he would want to come.

"Asuma and Jiraiya...?" Anko was beginning to think that perhaps, they could handle Orochimaru. With backup like that, there was no way that they could fail.

**S**akura crouched low in her cage. That was what it was, even if it didn't look like one. In fact, it looked more like a room without windows, a very dark room with only a few lamps to see by. It wasn't a very strong cage with strong bars. With her hands, she could easily break down one of those crumbling walls and escape, but she couldn't do that just yet.

"Sakura-sama?"

The pink-haired girl turned her eyes from the scrolls open on the floor to the grey-haired shinobi. "Kabuto-san?" Sakura remembered him from her first chuunin exam...and she hadn't forgotten that he was working for Orochimaru. She couldn't trust him, no matter what he said. "Nan des-ka?" She was going to kill him as well.

Kabuto stood at the very edge of the room assigned to Sakura, but he could still feel the tension that surrounded it so thoroughly. This girl... Something had happened to bring her here. Her answer to Orochimaru's question... Destruction. That word had never rung with so much murderous intent before.

And not only that, Orochimaru-sama's curiosity had only increased as he learned more about her...

_Orochimaru sat back in his chair at her answer. Destruction. That was adequate...for now._

_He eyed the girl with the same mild interest that a man eyed a prospective pet at a pet store. She looked healthy enough, and she seemed eager to be his pet, but did she have the qualifications? How did he know that she wasn't just going to bite him in the hand and run away after he bought her?_

"_Tell me why I should lend you this power?" Sasuke had betrayed him once before. Orochimaru wasn't going to just hand another batch of power and knowledge to another useless shinobi who was just going to betray him later. "What can you offer me?" Because he certainly wasn't going to use a girl for a container. The idea almost made him want to vomit._

_Sakura stared at the man. What can she offer him? "I can..." She couldn't think of anything._

_She had to think of something! Quick!_

_Sakura could see that he was disinterested. She had gotten hold of his attention for a moment, but it was quickly fading away. "I have seen and I understand secret ninjutsu only known in Konoha." She had read those scrolls up in Hokage tower. She remembered them perfectly._

"_Girl, I am a Sannin of Konoha. I also know those techniques." He guessed that he was wrong. He couldn't use her after all._

"_I am an excellent medic-nin."_

_Orochimaru turned away. Kabuto was also an excellent medic-nin, and he told her that with the same disinterest that was quickly spreading through his mind. _

"_I was trained by Tsunade-shishou herself! I am a much better medic-nin th–" _

_Sakura stopped as she saw Orochimaru's eyes widen. She knew about this man's previous relationship with her shishou, but..._

_She was regretting it._

"_You and Tsunade...are close?" His voice was soft, as if deep in memory._

"_Uh...yes?" She wasn't sure what he meant by close, but they shared a bond. There was the bond that could only be shared between a sensei and student._

_The man leaned back in his chair, a wide grin on his face to wipe away the brief humanity that had appeared there. "Of course," he said slowly as he closed his eyes momentarily. A plan was forming in his mind. "Kabuto, take the girl to her room." He was keeping her. This was a pet he couldn't afford not to get._

Kabuto didn't know what Orochimaru was thinking when he allowed the girl to stay, but he had a feeling that it couldn't be good. That smile on his face was too bright. His master would never allow someone into his compound without a good reason.

"I was wondering if you would like anything in particular. If you need anything at all, feel free to ask." Kabuto smiled, although beneath it, there was the uneasiness that lay in his chest. Compared to this girl, Uchiha Sasuke was nothing. At least they knew what Sasuke wanted. Sakura's motives were hidden beneath layers upon layers of a feminine mind that Kabuto didn't want to go anywhere near. He would never be able to understand it, even if he had all eternity.

And that reaction which Orochimaru had, the expression on the man's face... That image haunted the grey-haired shinobi. He could only imagine what Orochimaru was thinking as he saw this girl...this little Tsunade, asking him for help, for power.

"I don't need anything at the moment, Kabuto-san," the girl said as she turned away from him, her eyes trailing to the walls where strange maps of powerful seals and techniques were pinned up for her to see, to read, to memorize, and to learn. These were the first of a series of techniques in written form that Orochimaru had deemed fit for her to learn–although the more interesting and powerful techniques would have to be learned directly from him since he refused to write them down; these were all just things that Sasuke had used before–and the rest of the scrolls lay on a table nearby. There were no windows in this room, so she was thankful for them. They gave her something to look at in her boredom. "I'll call you if I need anything."

'_That's strange,'_ Kabuto thought as he backed out of the room. Those words...that voice...all of it resounded with an energy that didn't fit this girl. It was flat, and dead. _'The girl I had met so long ago had a much happier voice.'_

"Yes, of course. I'll take my leave," Kabuto said as he closed the door after him. He didn't know why, but his body felt frozen. The girl... She was definitely different now, and he wanted to know why. Why did she come here to see his master? Why was she here in Oto no Sato? Her cold words before...destruction...the immensely sorrowful killer intent that filled her room...all these things just didn't add up. There was definitely an underlying motive there. And he needed to find out what it was before she could put her plan in action.

And as Kabuto left the room, Sakura was left alone to contemplate those same questions. She didn't want to answer them though. If she had asked them, she might have changed her mind. She might have decided that this path, which would ultimately lead to her death, was not the path that she wanted.

But...the kunoichi never allowed herself to think about it for a moment. Those questions...those dangerous questions...were best left unanswered.

'_I will try my best to live a life without regrets. It's my way of the ninja!'_

That was what Naruto always said... She would try to live up to it.

**K**akashi's hands were restless, folding and unfolding the orders he had received from Tsunade earlier that day. Gather a team of however many people he deemed necessary for the task. Gather as much information about this cloaked figure as possible. Return alive. Those were Tsunade's three points. That and...return in two weeks.

Two weeks! That was how long she expected this task to take. Granted it didn't take that long to get to Otogakure...and usually recon-missions were around this long, but...it was obvious that the Hokage was too worried about his emotional well-being. This was Oto. Oto! It was going to take much longer than two weeks! But–Kakashi sighed–there was no way around it. He was just going to have to finish this in two weeks.

"Huh?" Kakashi stopped as he saw the extra person waiting for them with the rest of the group. "Kurenai?"

"Kakashi," the red-eyed woman said as she saw the grey-haired jounin. "I can't just let you all go alone. I request permission to join your party."

"A pleasant surprise, but...no," Kakashi said as he stopped in front of the team. "We have all the people we need."

"Well, I for one wouldn't mind having another woman on the team!" Jiraiya said as he eyed Kurenai. _'The woman sure is built well... Curvy...'_ A slight pinkish colour rose in the white-haired man's cheeks.

"It's too dangerous!" Anko complained. _'Orochimaru will kill all of you in an instant if he had the chance!' _The woman's eyes burned with intense determination.

Asuma was only silent. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to cross Kurenai at the moment. He could see that she was determined. Deciding to go to Orochimaru...that wasn't just a passing thought. This required long contemplation. Orochimaru wasn't just anyone. He was a Sannin.

Kakashi looked at the silent Asuma. Out of everyone, he had said nothing, and Kakashi had to respect the man's opinions, even if he didn't voice them. "Maa...I guess you could come...as backup..."

Kurenai's mouth curved into a slight smile. _'It seems as if Kakashi really does think sometimes!'_

"If you get killed, it's not my fault," Anko said as she turned from Kurenai. _'Another person, another potential casualty.'_

"Hey, what do you think about older men?" Jiraiya asked as soon as Anko walked away. His attempts toward that woman had only earned him slaps to the head, and punches in his stomach, but this one looked prettier anyway.

"I think they're idiots," Kurenai said coldly.

Jiraiya's expression froze as her words reached his ears. Idiots... She meant him.

"We should focus on the task at hand, Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said as he walked away from him. "We are headed for a dangerous place." Otogakure. They were lucky that Sasuke returned with the location of that mysterious village...and unlucky that Sakura had discovered the location from him as well.

"Yes...yes, I know." The white haired man followed after the rest of the group. It seemed as if the whole group was dull. "Let's just get going."

**F**rom where she lay, Sakura looked up at the incredibly dull ceiling of her room. Everything was dull here, not just the ceiling. But it seemed as if the ceiling was the worst. At least the walls could be decorated with scrolls and...

"Sakura-sama?" Kabuto walked into the kunoichi's room with a small bundle in his hand. "Orochimaru-sama said to give this to you."

The kunoichi sat up and looked at the blue bundle in the spectacled nin's hands. "What is it?" She couldn't be too cautious. She hadn't been here for long, and she didn't know Orochimaru that well. He was supposed to be evil. He could be trying to poison her, or kill her in some way that she couldn't quite imagine or understand. She had to be cautious.

And even if it was an innocent thing, she had to refuse to accept it. She hated Orochimaru too much to want anything from him. He took Sasuke from her. That was how she saw it, even though the man who had ultimately taken Sasuke's life–Uchiha Itachi–was dead.

"He said that it is a gift...to welcome you to the village."

Sakura took the bundle from the grey-haired shinobi and laid it in her lap. It was light...and small. It didn't seem too dangerous.

Slowly, the pink-haired kunoichi unfolded each corner of the bundle, her hands ready at any moment to destroy it, or to throw it at Kabuto, or to rise to any part of her body to heal herself, if the need arose. But, it wasn't anything dangerous.

It was only a hitai-ate...a sound hitai-ate.

Sakura lifted the small band in her hand. She had left her Konoha hitai-ate with Kakashi. She hadn't thought that she would actually replace it.

"I don't need this." Sakura held it out to Kabuto. "Tell him that I don't want it." A sound nin... She didn't come here to be a sound nin!

Kabuto stared at the girl. "But Orochimaru-sama..."

"Tell him that I don't want it!" Never! Never would she wear something like that!

"But it would please Orochimaru-sama greatly if you wore it." Kabuto looked straight at her now, a sly look on his face as he waved the hitai-ate at her. "If you displease him, he may decide that you're not worth teaching." The girl was letting her guard down.

"Nonsense!" Sakura snatched the hitai-ate from the shinobi's hand. "Orochimaru isn't such a fool!" She looked down at the tiny band of cloth and metal. It was such a small thing...and she didn't know Orochimaru that well. She could be wrong.

So, just in case...

Sakura tied the hitai-ate around her hair, the same place that the crest of Konoha had rested not too long ago. "Is that all?"

A small smile crept over Kabuto's face. It seemed as if she was easier to see through than he had initially thought. "Yes." He sank back into the hall, closing the door after him. "If there is anything else you need..."

"Shut up and leave me alone!" Sakura snapped. She didn't remember Kabuto being so annoying. But even so...

The pink-haired kunoichi reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a half-crumpled square of folded paper. She unfolded it slowly, taking great care not to wrinkle it any further than it already had. Her hands shook a little as she looked into the familiar faces that looked out from the small photograph, then, crumpled in her hands.

That photo... It seemed like so long ago...

Sakura clenched her chest with one hand as she stared at the small mismatched ball of paper in the other. Her chest was tight again.

With motions even slower than before, she unfolded the photograph, smoothed it over her chest and looked at the four people there. Sasuke-kun... Kakashi-sensei... Naruto... And a smiling Sakura... People she had lost...

'_Ano-sa! Ano-sa! Sakura-chan, want to eat lunch with me?'_ The image of Naruto's smiling face filled her vision.

'_Are you going too, Sasuke-kun?'_ Sakura heard herself call to the dark-haired shinobi at Naruto's side.

'_Hn.'_

With a heavy heart, the girl folded the photo carefully again and pressed it deep into her kunai pouch. She had forgotten how to cry a while ago...not since her heart had broken–once...twice...three times?–otherwise she knew she would have probably cried now. She had given herself the opportunity to do it, but there was only the overwhelming sadness...and the knowledge that she had cried all her tears long ago.

**End Chapter 3**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

I don't remember if I've explained this before, but since there were some concerns about Naruto and Sasuke being dead, I'm going to explain this anyway. I know that it's a little late, but I have to do this, so don't hate me if it's obvious to you. A prologue is supposed to explain something that happens outside the timeline of the story. Generally, it's to make sure that the reader is caught up with the general situation so that they don't get confused when they read the book. A prologue should be short, but it doesn't really tell you what is going to happen in the story. So when I said that Naruto and Sasuke were dead in the prologue of this story, that's just to get you up to date, so that you don't wonder where they are, and so that it doesn't come as a big shock when you find out. It doesn't mean that they're going to stay dead. If your prologue is too long, then you should write it as a separate story, typically called a prequel. The prequel to this story would be _Wait for Me: Leaving._ But I write a prologue so that you don't have to read the first book to read this book. Aren't I nice? Next chapter, epilogues, and sequels.

Fire's babbling:

Sakura: Cried all my tears long ago! What do you mean by that! It was only a month ago!

Fire: (cringes) But it's supposed to be a figure of speech. It feels like a long time ago to you! (waving hands apologetically) I don't mean it literally.

Sakura: I can cry! I'll show you I can cry!

Fire: I'm not saying that you can't…

Kakashi: I brought her back since you were wondering where she went.

Fire: (unenthusiastic) Wow…thanks.

Kakashi: You seem unhappy about it.

Fire: (monotone) I don't care anymore. Write your own story. (turns around)

Sakura: No! Fine! I can't cry!

Fire: That's not what I said!

Kakashi: Sakura! I've found you!

Sakura: Yeah. You found me in the first chapter.

Kakashi: Now I'm bringing you home! (lunges for Sakura)

Sakura: Waah! (smacks Kakashi into the ground, jumps out of the way and runs away)

Fire: (staring at Kakashi) For a moment, I thought you were Jiraiya.

Kakashi: What makes you say that? (drags himself from the ground)

Fire: Oh, nothing.

Kakashi: So will I bring Sakura home or not?

Fire: Don't ask me that!

Kakashi: Why not?

Fire: You'll ruin the story for everyone else.

Kakashi: Oh. (thinks for a moment) Tell me anyway.

Fire: No!

Kakashi: How mean… (slumps sadly)

Fire: (ignoring Kakashi's attempts at emotional blackmail) Find out what Orochimaru was thinking about when he allowed Sakura to stay with him. Find out what Kabuto is up to. And does Kakashi actually find Sakura? What about Sakura? Most of that will be in the next chapter. The rest will be in the rest of the story. Till then, review! Anonymous reviewers are welcome although I want to be able to reply to you too so write down an email. I do prefer signed-in reviews.

Kakashi: Are you done yet? Sasuke always said you go on and on and on, but I thought he was exaggerating.

Fire: Yes. I'm done. Has anyone ever told you that you're high maintenance?

Kakashi: No. What does that mean?

Fire: Never mind. (turns away from Kakashi and back to the audience) See you next chapter!

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	5. Four: Determination of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter four! Hurray! (throws confetti into Kakashi's hair)

Kakashi: (pulls out tiny bits of paper from his hair) That's not a cause for celebration.

Fire: Yes it is!

Kakashi: Didn't you say that I'd know what you were trying to say last chapter by this chapter?

Fire: Really? I meant the next chapter.

Kakashi: (slumping visibly) What…?

Fire: This chapter is uploaded with chapter three, so I can't exactly show you what I meant, can I?

Kakashi: You're mean. Are you sure you're not a part of Akatsuki or some other evil organization?

Fire: Not unless I'm the leader, but that's not going to happen. (smiles) But since chapters three and four were uploaded together, I won't be addressing any general concerns this chapter. So just enjoy the chapter.

Kakashi: (shouting to the technical staff) That means on with the chapter!

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**Chapter 4: Determination of the Sakura**

**O**f all the shinobi in Konoha, only one knew of Sakura's true strength...knew that she must not have given up that easily. The pink-haired girl was too strong for that. The kunoichi that he knew must still be around, and he had to help bring her back. So, the distress was apparent on Rock Lee's face when he realized that they had already left.

Lee ran around in circles for almost ten minutes looking for Kakashi until he realized that Kakashi and his team were gone. And he wasn't chosen to go with them.

In his heart, he knew that it was Sakura. The cloaked figure that he had heard was in Otogakure had to be Sakura. The Sakura that he knew wouldn't have just left, wouldn't have given up just like that. That would mean that they've won...that people like those in Akatsuki had won. And Sakura was too strong to let that to happen.

That was why Lee couldn't stand for it. He had to go after her too. So...with determination in his chest, he ran to Hokage tower. He burst into Tsunade's room with his mouth stemmed in stern resignation. He would much rather have just gone after Kakashi right away, but he didn't want to be marked as a nukenin. No. He would do this the right way. He just hoped that Kakashi's team could wait for him until he caught up.

**F**rom up ahead, Kakashi held up a hand to stop. Anko, Asuma, Jiraiya and Kurenai froze where they were. Some of them were ready to take Kakashi's leadership, some were more suitable for leadership, and some were there just to stop Orochimaru, and all of them held some combination of these three qualities, but Kakashi was appointed to lead this reconnaissance mission, and there wasn't a single one of them there who would have argued with it. Kakashi was certainly the more capable man. He had been to Otogakure before...and the man knew exactly what he was looking for.

'_Three to the left. Two to the right. Careful...the place is filled with Oto-nin,'_ Kakashi signed back to them. _'Stop if you see anything strange. I don't want to fall into a trap.'_ Although he was sure that no one had really wanted to fall into a trap before.

Anko nodded in acknowledgement. The others just did nothing. Jiraiya seemed almost distracted by Kurenai...but Kakashi trusted that the Sannin understood what he had said. A man didn't just become one of the Legendary Sannin for no reason at all.

Kakashi turned again to make sure that the way was clear. He could have taken those five people, those five Oto-nin out–they certainly weren't strong or threatening in appearance–but if he had done something like that, someone was bound to discover their bodies, or realize that they were missing, then they would know that something was amiss. And this was supposed to be a stealth-based mission. He had to be more cautious about this than that.

'_Chikusho...I should have brought Ino or Shikamaru. Their abilities would be so much more useful at a time like this,'_ Kakashi thought for a split second before banishing it away. Now wasn't the time for regrets. Regrets might get them all killed. He had brought more than capable jounin here with him. He should be able to handle this!

Kakashi waved a hand forwards. The way was clear. They could move forwards safely...for now.

**O**rochimaru read over the scroll in his hand again before throwing it to the ground. Another useless plan. He could see that _that_ plan wasn't going to work. That plan wasn't going to work against Tsunade!

He was finally doing what he has been putting off for a few years now. He needed to destroy Konoha, and he was finally going to do it. With his newest acquisition, he could do it. That pink-haired kunoichi is going to bring him victory.

The girl wasn't exceptionally strong. She wasn't a new power that he had never seen before. She didn't have some new jutsu that no one knew about. But she did have an advantage that he needed. She was precious to Tsunade.

That emotional advantage was just what he needed.

He didn't have enough leverage against the blond woman back in Tanzaku Gai. Threats and incentives were nothing to Tsunade. She had nothing that he could threaten then. But, he had Sakura now. With Sakura at his side, his plans to destroy Konoha might actually work.

But she would never just agree to destroying her birthplace. No. Orochimaru had no illusions about that. He was too smart to think that she would just nod her head and say that it was fine, that it was okay, that he could destroy Konoha. If his friends weren't now his enemies, even Orochimaru might have thought twice about it. Even he might have had second thoughts about destroying a place that once held an important place in his heart.

That still held an important place in his heart.

That was why the first part of his plan was so important, and he planned to put it into action soon. As soon as he decided which one, he would begin. Then, Konoha would die. Then, he would finally have his revenge.

But first, he had something he needed to work out. There was another variable in his plan he needed to think ou–

"Orochimaru!"

A head of pink hair appeared in Orochimaru's field of vision suddenly, and the man had to move back in surprise. His hands pushed the open scrolls that lay on his desk stealthily onto the ground before she could see them. He couldn't allow her to know about any of that. Ever. At least not until he deemed her ready to know about it. Before that time, she would just say no. Then, he would never have another chance to persuade her. "What are you doing here?" He demanded almost immediately. He hadn't even realized that the kunoichi had come into his room until he saw her face.

He resisted the urge to add Tsuande to the end of the question. In his memories, it was always Tsunade who had annoyed him like this. Jiraiya was always so much easier to detect. The white-haired boy...then white-haired man...was usually discovered right away.

"I need you to explain this." Sakura held up a scroll, pointed to a specific passage on the scroll. "You are supposed to be teaching me, Orochimaru." She sounded annoyed.

The pale man held back the urge to strangle the girl and beat her body to a bloody mass. Such manners... She could at least address him with some respect. He was supposed to be her sensei! At least Sasuke acknowledged his power.

He took the scroll from the girl's hands and looked down at the passage. "Yes...it is a little complicated," he said slowly. Sasuke had the same problems when he was learning about this technique. "But–"

"Orochimaru-sama!"

The pale man and the pink-haired girl glared at the man who had burst into the room. "What is it!" They both demanded at the same time, both equally annoyed at the interruption. In fact, they had about the same expression on their faces.

The man took a step back in surprise. "Uh...um..." He couldn't remember. That annoyed question had taken all the words from his mind!

"Can't you see that we're in the middle of something important?" Sakura walked up to the man, her eyes ablaze with anger. She wasn't in the mood for his stammering. She has been up for almost a week straight, without even a moment's rest, trying to figure out these stupid texts that Orochimaru had given to her, and she was cranky. It was hard enough putting up a friendly face for Orochimaru so that he wouldn't send her away. "If you have nothing important to say, don't come in!" She smashed the man's head into the ground.

"Umn... It is something...important. I swear!"

"Sakura." Orochimaru grabbed onto Sakura's arm, pulling her back for a moment before she pulled herself away to stomp on the man's head. The Sannin couldn't let the man pass out yet. He really might have important news. "Let the man speak before you hurt him." But she wasn't going to stop now, and slowly, her behaviour was amusing Orochimaru. So he didn't stop her. He actually wanted to see if she would stomp on the man's head again.

"Important things shouldn't leave the minds of slaves," Sakura said coldly, grinding her foot into the man's back before she became disgusted with herself and had to stop. That was so unlike her that it was scary, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to get back to her studies, and this annoying man was in her way! _'Wh-what am I doing!'_ But no matter how much this man's stupidity, this man's forgetfulness was annoying her, she knew that she had no excuse for hurting him. She wanted to kill Orochimaru, not this innocent man.

But, Sakura wasn't going to apologize either. Not in front of Orochimaru. Somehow, even the dark atmosphere around the Sannin denoted that she must be mean, cold and evil.

"Well, what is it?" Sakura let out an annoyed half-sigh as she pulled her foot from the man's torso. She had things to learn. She had more important things to do than wait for news that might never come. If she had to wait much longer, she was afraid that she really would hurt him.

"It's..." the man tried to ignore the pain spreading from his back. "It's Uchiha Itachi-san and Hoshigaki Kisame-san!"

Orochimaru pulled the girl from the man's back quickly, his eyes widening with the sudden words. Itachi? Kisame? What about them?

"Th-they're dead!"

And Sakura almost burst into genuine laughter at that. Then she laughed. These spies were ridiculously slow at gathering information. And for a moment, she had thought that it was really important information!

The girl's mirthful laughter rang eerily through the air, and Orochimaru had to ask her what it was. "What do you find so funny?" There wasn't a smile on _his_ face. This was serious news. His former ally, a member of the great organization Akatsuki, this horrific man was dead.

"Such useless henchmen!" Sudden anger rose through Sakura's entire body as she stomped on the man's back, effectively snapping his backbone in two. The man gave out a great scream before falling dead beneath her foot, but Orochimaru didn't care about that. He was more concerned with what she had to say. "He has been dead for almost a month! So slow..." she looked apologetically at the corpse before turning back to the scroll that was left forgotten on Orochimaru's chair. She knew that she shouldn't have done that, and she was regretting it, but that man had inhibited her work. And that had annoyed her. She really wanted to learn this. It was important to her. "They don't deserve to be here..." ...to die like this.

Orochimaru stared at the girl. For a moment, in that anger, he thought he had seen something else there. This murderous intent...it reminded him too much of...

Fiery eyes. Mysterious shadow. An unknown identity.

...the leader of Akatsuki.

"Now, you were just going to tell me about this kinjutsu that you had developed," Sakura said, looking up at Orochimaru with cold aqua-green eyes. "I'm sure you remember it, right?"

"Of course..." Orochimaru tried not to think too much on it. If he did, he would only distress himself. "Kuchiyose edo tensei. If you want to do it right, you need the ashes of their bones and body, and human sacrifices, bodies for the souls to occupy. One soul, one b–"

"This passage..." Sakura pointed irritatedly at the page in her hands. "I didn't ask you what it was!" Even if it reminded her that she might have to get his ashes later...if she decided to do it. But that wasn't likely. She would never do something like this.

"So persistent...I'm trying to tell you, Tsunade. The passage says–!" Orochimaru felt a hand slap him in the head, knocking his head to the side...but Orochimaru still sat firmly in his seat.

"I...am not...Tsunade," Sakura said through gritted teeth, her eyes ablaze. "My name is Sakura. If you're not going to use it, you shouldn't have asked for it!"

Orochimaru held his ringing head. "I was saying..." he said, looking up at the girl with dangerously cold gold eyes. "...the passage says that you need human sacrifices, but you need live sacrifices for the kinjutsu to realize its power." That was why it's a kinjutsu...not because you bring back the souls of the dead, but because you need to kill to bring back those people. "I didn't write anything about the technique in there. You'll have to learn it from me directly." His words were almost a warning. If she annoyed him, he might not teach it to her. "Is that all?"

Sakura looked down at the passage. It made sense now. "Yes," she said as she rolled up the scroll, the rumbling anger slowly subsiding from her chest. It was tempting to learn, and she had thought about it when she first saw it, but she decided no. No matter how much she missed Sasuke, she couldn't do it. She couldn't just kill someone like that.

She looked directly at Orochimaru, the rolled scroll in her hand. For a moment, she thought about thanking him, but that was just the remnant of an old Sakura. The idea of thanking someone that she hated, despised more than Itachi who killed her beloved Sasuke...was unconventional, an idea that only the old Sakura could have thought of...but that wasn't whom she was anymore. Orochimaru was merely a tool to get her what she wanted. That was how she had to think now. Everyone was a tool. All she needed to do was make sure that she used them for the right purposes, so that she can do what she wanted to do...what she needed to do. "I'll be back later...if I need you again."

Orochimaru saw the door close after the girl, and let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. The girl...she was too much like Tsunade. He hadn't meant to call her that...but the girl didn't have to hit him either! That was definitely something that Tsunade would have done.

'_But I'm not Jiraiya!'_

And he had to pull his scrolls and books from the ground before he could continue what he was doing earlier.

**A**ll five members of Kakashi's team looked down at the scroll with Kakashi's hurried handwriting laid out before them. "Alright...Anko will stay at the edge of the village as our backup with Kurenai. You know why, Anko. If you come too close to the village, your cursed seal might activate." Anko has been given authority to tell him where there was a chance of an ambush, and which areas Orochimaru would think was the optimum area for sentries, which areas they should avoid. She was good at reading Orochimaru's mind like that, but it was also because she was trained in those types of situations. However, that was the extent of what he could have Anko do. If worse came to worst, Orochimaru would never really hurt Anko.

And Kakashi had only brought Kurenai here as a trump card. He couldn't just bring her along either.

The purple-haired woman nodded in approval. "Yes, I understand," she said with a slight nod.

"Got it," Kurenai said without any other words. She knew that she wasn't invited to be here. She couldn't expect Kakashi to have anything in mind for her other than as backup.

Kakashi nodded, happy with himself. "Asuma, Jiraiya and I are going to sneak into Orochimaru's hideout here." Kakashi pointed at the map. "Asuma, you will stay at the entrance to guard our exit. Jiraiya, you and I are going to look for any information on that cloaked figure. Mention of–"

"Yeah, I get it!" Jiraiya looked intensely at the grey-haired jounin. "I've been on these missions before. I know how this works."

Kakashi smiled at the white-haired man. "Souka. Maa, let's get going." Kakashi vanished, the Sannin joining him not too long afterwards. Anko and Kurenai settled down where they were, hiding themselves well, in case there were more Oto-nin nearby, but they didn't sense any miscellaneous chakra signatures. Asuma took his place on the roof of Orochimaru's hideout, but it took a moment to get there. He wasn't Jiraiya and Kakashi. He didn't use shunshin, even though it would have been faster if he had. But, he wasn't the one who might be caught and executed by Orochimaru.

The grey-haired jounin and the Sannin both appeared inside the building, as they intended. Shunshin no jutsu was originally developed for spying anyway. It made the job that much easier.

And already, they heard the sound of people.

For a moment, Kakashi and Jiraiya thought about getting away–they couldn't be caught–but they stayed. They looked at each other and knew immediately what the other was thinking. Information gathering...right? They could use whoever was coming their way.

**T**he man shook visibly as he stood at attention in front of the girl who had called him from the village outside. He was an Oto-nin, and she could see it clearly in the inferior way that he couldn't even handle the pressure of being inside Orochimaru's home.

"I need you to do something for me," Sakura said slowly as she stopped in front of him. She stared at him hard so that he could get a good look. This was the face of the person who would kill his master...who would kill Orochimaru. She would never forget that goal.

"..." The man stood at even greater attention, waiting for his orders.

Sakura was thinking. She was talking herself out of it. It was a ridiculous notion. She couldn't even learn the technique without Orochimaru's guidance.

But she just wanted them with her.

"I need you to go to Konoha for me." She had decided. There was no turning back now.

**F**or almost a month since she has arrived, Sakura has been pouring over the books that Orochimaru had given to her. Such books...they just kept coming! She was even more stressed than when she was working with Tsunade. At least Tsunade showed some interest in teaching her medical ninjutsu. Orochimaru seemed to just leave books with her, and he was never around.

"Sakura-sama, Orochimaru-sama said that these books–"

"Get out! Get out! I don't want to see you!" Sakura threw a scroll at Kabuto. This grey-haired man...he was the one who has been bringing these books to her nonstop! Did Orochimaru seriously think that this was going to keep her occupied? That she would stop coming to him for guidance? Or was he just keeping her occupied so that she couldn't figure one ninjutsu from another genjutsu? "Get out before I make you get out!" A scroll flew by Kabuto's head and embedded itself in the wall, which was an incredible feat considering how a scroll was just paper and soft wood.

Kabuto looked at the scroll from the corner of his eye warily. Even with his healing techniques, he wasn't sure if he could stand up to Sakura's wrath.

"I'll just leave these outside the door," he said pliantly.

"Shut up and leave me alone!" Sakura shouted again, this time holding a kunai and several shuriken in her hand.

Kabuto quickly turned the corner and began walking down the hall. That girl...she was just getting worse. If she had hit him with those, it would still take a moment before he could heal himself...but that would have given her enough time to get to him, and then, he would be a goner. She would have crushed him beyond repair.

Kabuto shuddered. He wished that Orochimaru would just get rid of her quickly. She didn't even give him enough time to figure out what it was that she wanted from his master, what she was going to do. If only he had more time, he could warn Orochimaru about her. But he couldn't just speak against her, not without evidence.

"Ah...Kabuto...I haven't seen you for such a long time." Two dark figures loomed up behind the spectacled nin. "We really should catch up."

Kabuto turned away from the grey-haired jounin as he pushed the jounin's white-haired companion out of his way. He knew who the white-haired man was. He was Jiraiya! And Kakashi was also here. He had to tell Orochimaru-sama right away!

But Kakashi was suddenly in front of him, and Kabuto found that he couldn't move his limbs. They had frozen in mid-seal. "Ka–kanashibari...!"

"Now, tell us where Sakura is," Kakashi said as he walked up to the man. "We know that she's here."

**End Chapter 4**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

As promised, here's an explanation of epilogues and sequels. Yay! Well, there really isn't much of a difference between an epilogue and a prologue except that an epilogue gives a sense of completion to the story. It should also be outside the timeline of the story and have nothing to do with the story other than the fact that it wraps it up. There's an epilogue in _Wait for Me: Crystalline Mirage_ although I haven't uploaded it yet since it's not complete. Read it if you have time. As to sequels…if your epilogue is so long that it becomes a story on its own, then you should separate it into another story. That would make it a sequel. Typically, sequels are follow-ups on what happened in your first story. Usually it continues where the first story leaves off but it should have its own plotline, separate from the first story. For example, _Lord of the Rings_ by JRR Tolkien isn't really a trilogy since the three books depend on each other to make a successful story. Not reading one wouldn't make sense, just as skipping a chapter wouldn't make sense. Even Tolkien said that it was meant to be read as one book. I'm off topic now, so back to sequels… Not everyone will read all the books of a series, so I try to make each one freestanding. It's just less stressful on the reader—who will just have a whole bunch of unanswered questions and become confused—and on the writer—who wouldn't have to deal with a whole bunch of reviews asking about what is going on in the story and then having to explain it all.

Fire's babbling:

Kakashi: Why are we taking so long to find her?

Fire: You have Jiraiya on your team. Need I say more?

Kakashi: I guess not…

Jiraiya: Hey! Just because I wanted to look into a few bars doesn't mean I was inhibiting our misssion!

Fire: Mission has two 's' in it. Are you drunk?

Jiraiya: No. (hides his sake bottle)

Anko: We just arrived in Oto anyway. You can't expect us to find her right away. (munches on a dango ball)

Fire: Uh…can I have one of those?

Anko: No.

Fire: (disappointed) Okay. (whispering to the audience) I'm afraid of Anko, so I'm not going to argue with her.

Anko: Who's scary?

Fire: (quickly) No one!

Kakashi: Sakura! (calling out) Sakura! Are you here?

Fire: I think Orochimaru would be much more sane than this bunch. Next chapter, I'm definitely going to hang out with Orochimaru. (sighs)

Kakashi: What?

Fire: Nothing. (turning to the audience) Review and tell me what you think. If you're confused about anything, I'll be happy to explain it all, from the techniques to the timeline, and other things too.

Kakashi: Can you really do that?

Fire: I have time.

Kakashi: I'm still going to be here next week, right? You're not going to fire me.

Fire: Of course not. Now, let me finish what I was going to say!

Kakashi: I'm just not important enough…

Fire: (sighs) Review and tell me what you think. If it gets too complicated, it might get confusing so I want to make sure that the message is coming across. So review! Review!

Kakashi: What kind of a control freak are you?

Fire: I'm not a control freak. I just like reviews. I need them to help me with my writing.

Kakashi: You're weird.

Fire: Kakashi…

Kakashi: What?

Fire: Never mind. You'll know when the next chapter is loaded.

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	6. Five: Flames of the Sakura

Fire: This is _Wait for Me: Following_ chapter five. Anyone in the wrong window, close this window and read the link again.

Kakashi: Um…I'm sure they're all in the right window.

Fire: Oh! (sweats) I didn't think there would be so many people here…

Kakashi: (sweats) They're staring…

Fire: Maybe you should hand me a review.

Kakashi: (pulls out the Big Bag of Reviews and drops it on the ground with a loud thud) Was this… (wipes away sweat from his brow) …what you meant by you'll see next time?

Fire: (smiles) Reviews make the bag heavier. (stares back at the staring audience)

Kakashi: (sighs as he pulls out a window) Here.

Fire: (looks nervously away from the staring audience and glances down at the window) …

Kakashi: Well…?

Fire: Saskie-chan doesn't understand why Sakura didn't tell you that she was Sakura. (turns to Saskie-chan) That's simple, and it will become more apparent in the story later on, but she simply didn't want Kakashi to know what she's doing. If you were going to do something crazy like join up with Orochimaru, I'm sure that you wouldn't want your mentor or your family to know about it. It's just something that they would try to stop her from doing, and Sakura is someone who–once they make up their mind–is impossible to stop. I'm sure everyone knows just how determined Sakura can get. And I'm sorry if the babbling doesn't make sense. It's just to get confusing things in the story out in the open, concerns, etc.

Kakashi: Anything else?

Fire: Hmm...Sakura doesn't want to see you?

Kakashi: That's mean.

Fire: Well, enough reviews. On with the story!

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Disclaimer: the term "sensei mode" belongs to Fire. If you want to borrow it, please send an email or a review to me and I'd be happy to lend it to you, completely free of charge!

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**Chapter 5: Flames of the Sakura**

**T**he days were endless when Sakura first found that kinjutsu in the pile of scant information on kinjutsu given to her by Orochimaru. She had run to him, asking for help then. She was too excited to figure out what the text was saying. She wanted him to explain it to her.

Kuchiyose edo tensei...

No other three words had ever meant so much to her before. She couldn't believe that a man such as Orochimaru could have something like this.

Even as she was studying the other books and scrolls sprawled out on her desk, on the tables, on the walls around the room, her eyes still wandered to the single kinjutsu scroll which was never too far away from her. She would never let go of it...not that tempting technique that still glared at her even after she had decided to ignore it. She had to become stronger, and she would do it without that technique.

'_I have to do this. For Sasuke-kun... For Naruto...'_ Her eyes were clouding over with something that seemed like tears...but that couldn't be! She had forgotten how to cry. She was sure of it!

The kunoichi wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stared at the water that had collected there. Tears... Long forgotten tears...

She smeared them away. She didn't have time to cry. She had to finish this!

"Here! Orochimaru!" She held up a new passage for the pale man. "Orochimaru!" She yelled at him.

The man pulled his head up. He was dozing off again.

Orochimaru looked at the kunoichi. She was forcing him to sit with her while she studied...something about needing his guidance. But she would just sit there and read over the same page for hours. She couldn't expect him not to fall asleep!

Then, he looked down at the book she was holding out to him. Shikumi no jutsu... "Why do you want to learn this?"

"Just tell me how it works!" The kunoichi snapped.

"You need to sleep. You've been working for ten days straight." Orochimaru waved a hand over her un-dilating eyes. Just like Tsunade used to be. It was amazing that she was still standing.

"Leave me alone and just tell me what I want to know!" The girl snapped at him again. "When did the fearsome Orochimaru become such a kind heart!"

'_You took Sasuke from me. You made him into a monster. Then, when he returns, he leaves again! What do you care what I do, you heartless freak!'_

But, Orochimaru only laughed at that. He laughed in his own twisted way...that evil laugh that sent chills down Sakura's spine. "A kind heart?" His eyes were cold again as he looked at her. "I don't care if you work yourself to death. You hold no interest for me." She wasn't worthy of being a container. She wasn't worthy of being a minion. "It's just obvious that you were Tsunade's apprentice." He just wanted her for what she was. She had Tsunade's knowledge in her brain because she was Tsunade's apprentice. Because she was Tsunade's apprentice, that emotional bond would always be there, that bond that would allow him to destroy Konoha...that was the only reason why he wanted her...why she was still alive now.

He didn't trust her at all...and he had no intention of really teaching any of these techniques to her. Not unless it was going to benefit him.

Sakura stared at the snake man for a moment before tapping the page again. "How does this work?" She repeated herself.

"Get some sleep, Tsu–!"

Sakura pounded him in the head again. Orochimaru grabbed hold of the kunoichi's arm as he fell, and found himself lying on the ground, looking up at an effigy of Tsunade with pink hair. "Tell me now!" Her eyes were still blazing even though she was in no position to demand anything from him. Her hands, still balled into fists, could easily hit him again with that strength which mirrored Tsunade's own.

Orochimaru pressed the girl's thin body against himself, ran his nose along the edge of the kunoichi's neck as he sniffed her like a snake playing with his prey. "For a Sakura, you don't smell anything like a flower," he said before Sakura smacked him in the face and pulled herself away. "You want power, yes? I can give you power."

Sakura glared at him. Already, she knew what he was thinking. _'Pedophile.'_ She didn't want that kind of power. The cursed seal... She had heard what it could do to a person. She had _read_ what it could do to a person. She had seen first hand what it could do to a person.

"Get out of my room!" Sakura glared at Orochimaru. "I don't want your stupid cursed seal!"

Orochimaru stared at the girl. His seal was...stupid? "I'm sure that you will change your mind later." The tall pale man turned to the door. If she didn't want it, he wasn't going to give it to her. Chances were...she would just reject it and die, or it would become inactive. There were plenty of other people waiting for him to give them such power as the seal could bestow. He wasn't going to waste it on an ingrate!

"No...never," Sakura said coldly as the man exited the room. She wasn't going to allow him to control her using that seal...not like Sasuke had allowed it to control him.

The kunoichi turned back to her books, her eyes blurring even as she looked down. But he was right. She was too tired. She needed sleep.

Sakura sighed over the scroll as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It was one thing to admit to herself that she was tired. It was quite another to admit to herself that Orochimaru was right about her being tired. She wasn't going to give in. Orochimaru wasn't right! She would study. She had plenty of energy left. She could just...

Sakura sagged over the books before drifting to sleep. The weariness that she had been holding back over the last ten days seeped over her body and dragged her into unconsciousness.

**L**ee faltered as he heard the Hokage's words. Denied. He wasn't allowed to leave the village. Kakashi already had five people on his team in total, one more than was usually on a basic team. He didn't need another shinobi...especially since they were supposed to be a reconnaissance team, and stealth was important.

And Lee couldn't argue with that. They were going to return in half a week. He could wait for them to return, then go back to Otogakure with them when they go to retrieve Sakura. He could wait. He could wait.

'_Chikusho! Why didn't he bring me with him!'_

He couldn't wait. He wished they would return.

**O**rochimaru looked around the compound. Kabuto. He hadn't seen Kabuto for a few days now, and he was beginning to wonder where he could have gone. The grey-haired nin never went anywhere without informing him first, without getting his permission first.

The pale man clenched his hands in annoyance. When he gets his hands on Kabuto, that spectacled nin was going to pay. He demanded obedience, and Kabuto, his right arm, should know that better than anyone.

"Are you still wandering around here like that?" Sakura glared at Orochimaru as she walked up to him. From what she had gathered during the last month she has been here, he never really walked around so much in his own home before. "What are you looking for?"

Orochimaru looked at Sakura for a moment before a smile spread across his face. "Kabuto," he said simply without any further explanation. She had asked what he was searching for...and his answer was Kabuto.

Sakura stared at him for a moment, her mind a little surprised at his reply. She was just about to go look for the pale man; there was a passage that she wanted explained. But that had nothing to do with why she was surprised.

She had asked Orochimaru a question, and he had answered. She had never gotten such an easy answer from the pale man in all the four weeks that she has been in this underground complex!

"Ka...buto?" Her mind was still trying to register it.

"Do you need something?" He walked up to her, loomed over her with that evil smile on his face. He took the book from her hand and looked at it before handing it back to her. "Juin jutsu." A wider smile spread out from the smile that was already on his face. "You're trying to learn how to do it yourself?" He tilted her head up to face him. "Or perhaps you're just trying to find a way to counteract it later...hmm?"

Sakura pulled herself away from him, stumbled back a few steps. "That's not it at all!" She shouted at him. It was an attack, a technique that he was willing to teach to her. She wasn't just going to waste it...not when it might come in handy later!

"Such a smart girl... You just might succeed too." Orochimaru walked away from her, continuing in the direction in which he was headed before. "But, if you want to counter my cursed seal, you'll have to figure it out yourself." There was no way that he was going to just hand over the secrets of his precious technique to a girl.

"Orochimaru!" Sakura fumed. "You said that you'd teach me any technique that I want to learn!"

"I never said any such thing," Orochimaru said, even as he continued away. "Try to remember things properly, Tsu–!"

"You try to remember things properly!" Sakura pummelled the man in the face. "I'm not Tsunade!"

"Such a punch..." Orochimaru held his jaw to make sure that it hadn't dislocated. "You couldn't possibly blame me if I forget."

Sakura's eyes flamed. It should have been a compliment. Tsunade was a strong and capable kunoichi, a powerful medic-nin of Konoha. But, that was a long time ago. Sakura would rather not have to be compared to someone of such high status when she knew that she no longer held the right to look up to her anymore. She couldn't even admit that she had the right to say the woman's name.

And she inwardly reminded herself to punish herself later for having said it. Tsunade. That was someone that she would rather forget as well, because if she remembered, she wasn't sure if she would be able to do what she knew she had to do.

"...Sakura." The end of Orochimaru's sentence, her name. That detested word...that detested name...only the sound of it made Sakura's blood run cold. "If you want me to explain it to you, come and find Kabuto for me. I'll show you a prime example of how the seal works."

Sakura could only stare at the man's retreating back before running after him. A prime example of how the seal works. What could he mean by that!

**A**nko looked at the unconscious spectacled man with apprehension behind her purple eyes. She didn't like him. She didn't like the idea of her former sensei being around him. This man. Everything about him was...irritating.

"Kakashi, do you think it was a good idea to abduct him like that?" Anko asked as she looked at the man again. He was unconscious, but he could wake up at any time.

"He wouldn't bring us to Sakura," Kakashi said simply. "We need to make sure that she isn't here." They needed somewhere safe to interrogate him thoroughly.

Anko straightened from where she crouched. That made enough logical sense, but still...she had a feeling that that wasn't all. "What are you planning, Kakashi?"

"I'm only asking you to keep an eye on him for now, Anko. I'm not asking you to kill him," Kakashi said half-jokingly with a smile. "At least...not yet."

Then, the grey-haired jounin turned and walked away from the far wall of the cave where they were keeping the young man. The rest of the party waited near the front of the cave. He had a plan...and most of it, he had already told Anko, but the rest of it... He couldn't bring himself to tell her that. No matter what Orochimaru had become, he was still Anko's sensei, and she would never accept anything that he decided to do to stop him.

"What are you thinking, Kakashi?" Asuma asked, all the while sending small glances in Jiraiya's direction. The man may be a Sannin, but he was sure to get a good beating if he kept making unwanted advances toward Kurenai like that.

Then, there was the sudden echo of a slap ringing through the cave.

"Itai," Jiraiya said slowly as he rubbed his face. Then, he turned to Kakashi, all seriousness on his face. "You've decided what we're going to do if she's in there, haven't you?" The man had seen enough of the world to know. Kakashi wasn't going to go easy on the girl just because she used to be his student.

"Find her. Bring her back to Konoha. That's what I'm going to do. But this is a reconnaissance mission..." Kakashi said, his eye turning to Anko for a moment before looking at Jiraiya again. "All we're here to do is confirm that it's Sakura-chan. I have no intention of disobeying orders." As much as he wanted to do it.

'_And Orochimaru... I'll tell you want we're going to do to Orochimaru later...when we're out of Anko's earshot.'_ Orochimaru wasn't in their orders. They could do whatever they wanted with him.

Jiraiya, Asuma and Kurenai nodded slowly. They understood completely, but then, Kakashi didn't expect any less from shinobi of their status.

"Anko," Kakashi turned back to the woman at the back of the room. "You'll have to stay here and watch our prisoner. The cursed seal on your shoulder..."

The purple-haired jounin nodded. She understood. Orochimaru would know immediately if she came too close to Otogakure. "I understand." Even if she desperately wanted to bring the head of her former sensei back to Konoha with them, she couldn't go.

"If we're not back in two hours, come after us. You are our trump card, Anko," Kakashi said as he led the three other members of his party forwards.

He wasn't here to fight, and Anko knew that he hoped it wouldn't be necessary for the woman to come after them, but if worse came to worst, Anko could stop Orochimaru and bring them all back safely. He knew that he was putting a lot on the woman's shoulders, but that was something that Kakashi had to trust she could handle. That was what being a shinobi was about. He had to trust that each member of his team could accomplish their part of the mission.

"As for Orochimaru," Kakashi said as they hurried toward the village. "We're here on a reconnaissance mission. We'll avoid confrontation, but if necessary, we will engage the enemy. Try not to kill anyone, but Orochimaru..." Kakashi frowned. The man who might very well have killed his student by now... "If you get the chance, kill him!"

Everyone around Kakashi was silent for a moment before Jiraiya spoke up. "Kakashi, we're not rookie genin. You should think about getting out of sensei mode when you're on missions with higher level shinobi."

And Kurenai had to stifle a laugh. That was going to be hard to do. The man spent way too much time around Naruto...even when Naruto was dead.

**End Chapter 5**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Finally, the age old mystery is solved! Well, not really an _age old_ mystery, but still a mystery to people writing everywhere. Personally when I write speech, I attach the fragment to the end. "Ramen," said Naruto, or "Ramen," Naruto said. Other people prefer to write it in front. Naruto said, "Ramen." In case you were wondering, both these forms are correct. You can write it either way, just like you can write dependent clauses on either side of the independent clause. The mystery comes from whether you capitalize the first word in the quotation when you attach the fragment to the beginning. Is it Naruto said, "ramen," or Naruto said, "Ramen." The surprising answer is that both are correct. You can write it either way—if you don't believe me, ask your English specialist and you'll get the same answer—but Naruto said, "Ramen," is more widely used. And now that that mystery is solved, we can ponder other English mysteries.

Fire's babbling:

Sakura: (running around in circles, screaming) Ahh! Orochimaru's trying to give me a cursed seal!

Orochimaru: Is that a bad thing?

Fire: Yes!

Sakura: (still running around, still screaming) Ahh! He's being a pedophile!

Fire: He was already a pedophile.

Orochimaru: That's slander. Kabuto, kill Fire.

Kabuto: The plan to attack Konoha isn't scheduled until much later, Orochimaru-sama.

Kakashi: O.o You sound organized.

Sakura: I just want power. I don't want to be your slave!

Kabuto: That sounds wrong.

Kakashi: Very wrong.

Fire: She means it literally.

Sakura: (screaming) Ahh!

Fire: Well, while Sakura's running around in circles, please feel free to send me a review. If you were confused about anything that's currently happening, or you have a concern about the story that you want cleared up, send me a review. If you hate the story, send me a review. If you like the story, send me a review. If you want me to kill Sakura…

Sakura: Hey! Don't kill me!

Fire: …send me a review. If you want—

Kakashi: Are you trying to brainwash them into sending a review?

Fire: (turns to Kakashi) You ruined it! It's subliminal advertising. It really works. They said so in Psych class!

Kakashi: (sensei mode) Don't brainwash the readers.

Fire: Okay! (hugs Kakashi and steals Icha Icha Paradise) Just remember to review! (runs away)

Kakashi: My book! (runs after Fire)

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	7. Six: Glimpses of the Sakura

Fire: Welcome to chapter six of _Wait for Me: Following_.

Kakashi: We're finally getting to the interesting part.

Fire: All the parts are interesting parts.

Kakashi: No! This part is interesting because there's more of me in it.

Fire: Okay…

Kakashi: (reaches into the Bag of Reviews and pulls out a window) Have a review.

Fire: Yay! (reads the review)

Kakashi: What does it say?

Fire: They think Sakura's become evil too quickly. I replied to the sender, but I'll explain it to anyone else out there with the same thoughts. Sakura's not really evil right now. She's still in the transitional stage. Sakura is acting this way because she's cranky from lack of sleep, Orochimaru's giving her a hard time by not teaching her anything worth learning--like powerful jutsu since he's a crazy power monger--and he's getting her confused with Tsunade whom she wanted to forget along with everything about Konoha, especially all her memories about Team Seven, Naruto and Sasuke. A girl with strength like Sakura, in a bad mood, will look evil to anyone. All this will become a lot more clear in the next few chapters, so don't worry too much if you read this and say: that's not what I read!

Kakashi: That's long.

Fire: Oh! And Sakura's treating Orochimaru like he's Naruto--when Naruto's being stupid and annoying--since he's acting stupid and annoying right now. Orochimaru is mistaking Sakura for Tsunade and he sort of reacts like he did back in his childhood when Tsunade used to hit him. This awkward stage between them won't last though. I just thought that it was funny and decided to put it in. I hope that explained a little about their strange behaviour.

Kakashi: Uh...aren't you going to stop?

Fire: And for the KakaSaku fans, the KakaSaku pairing won't come up until near the end of the story. Gomen nasai. But, the next book in the series will focus more on that pairing.

Kakashi: Nani! I'm her sensei! I can't fall in love with my student! That is completely against the rules! I could get killed for--

Fire: And for anyone reviewing, I don't understand a lot of the net abbreviations, so please don't write them. I might understand English, but net abbreviations are a whole new language on its own and is completely confusing to me. Now, on with the chapter!

Kakashi: Hey! I'm not done yet!

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**Chapter 6: Glimpses of the Sakura**

**A**nko was worried when Kakashi and his party hadn't returned. In fact, they had gone over the two hour limit that the grey-haired jounin had set for the team. For a moment, she thought about leaving Kabuto and going after Kakashi, but...

Her hand rose subconsciously to the cursed seal on her shoulder.

...Orochimaru will know that she was here.

If she was in Konoha...if she had someone with her who could take over for her and watch Kabuto, she would have been her usual impulsive self and just taken off for Orochimaru. But she didn't, so she didn't go. Right now, she couldn't just leave Kabuto alone. She just had to trust that Kakashi could handle it on his own...that his team was competent enough to handle this. They were all high class ninja...although she couldn't help but worry about them.

For two minutes, she paced worriedly around the cave. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Like a caged animal. Kabuto...the cave entrance...Kabuto...the cave entrance...Kabuto...the cave entrance...

'_I have to see what's keeping them so long!'_

Anko turned to the cave entrance once more, only to see a shadow blocking the exit. "O–Orochimaru!"

A small smile creased the face shrouded in shadow before her visitor walked forwards. "No." A female voice. "Not Orochimaru."

Momentary darkness engulfed the kunoichi who stood at the entrance, but Anko had seen her enough times at the Hokage tower during this particular kunoichi's training to know whom it was. "S–Sakura-chan!"

Sakura walked slowly toward the jounin. She and Orochimaru had split up to cover more ground. However, she had never thought that she would actually find Kabuto...and with a 'prime example of how the seal works' too, although she was sure this wasn't what Orochimaru had meant.

Mild elation crossed over Anko's face. She had agreed to come on this mission, but she had no real attachments to Sakura. Besides, Kakashi had said that he had seen her walk willingly to Orochimaru. Sakura had wanted to see Orochimaru. "Sakura-chan...we've found you!" Her voice was filled with cautious joy. But Anko's face fell again as she looked at the girl. She could see that something was wrong. Sakura wasn't happy to see her. "I'm not letting you take Kabuto," and this next phrase was dark, heavy with warning.

Sakura waved it aside with a sweet smile, the same smile that used to hold some sense of peace. There was only malice in it now. "Why Anko-san..." she said slowly as she walked forwards, her hands testing out the fit of her dark gloves. They still fit comfortably, but she hadn't expected it to change. She just wanted to make sure that her hands were ready for the shock of impact. "...I didn't come here to negotiate."

The old Sakura would never have been able to do this...but for Sasuke, for Naruto, she would endure. "Just hand me the boy, and you won't–" She was about to tell Anko that she wouldn't get hurt, but Sakura wasn't going to say anything like that. That was a lie, and no matter what Sakura had become, she had morals.

But, Anko had understood the pink-haired girl even with the unfinished sentence. The purple-haired woman fell back into a defensive stance as she tried to decide whether to run or fight. Her mind ran around inside her head in circles, trying to remember what Kakashi had said to her.

Sakura had left the village back at the end of June, spotted entering Otogakure at the end of August. It was mid-September now. That meant that she has had about a month of training from Orochimaru...if he had decided to train her.

'_Chikusho!'_ The woman took a wary step back, a cold sweat breaking out across her back. If she understood this correctly, a month was all Sakura needed to learn some very powerful kinjutsu. Anko had heard Tsunade talk about her genius apprentice more than once.

It was best that she abandon this fight, as much as she hated to admit it. This pink-haired girl who was once a chuunin of Konoha, was a much more powerful shinobi of Oto now.

Anko vanished before Sakura could think of launching a strike with one of her gloved hands.

The tokubetsu jounin fell against a tree outside the cave, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. She pressed her palm against her chest in an effort to stop her heart from leaping out across the canopy, her eyes fixed on the cave below. It was going to be a little while longer before Sakura left the cave, and it wasn't safe to stay to go back there, but they weren't going to use it anymore anyway. When Kakashi returns, Anko would tell him what she had learned. Sakura was here. Now it was time to bring her home.

**S**akura stood, her hands flexing in their gloves. Her feet shifted from side to side as her mind registered what had just happened. Of all people, Mitarashi Anko-san had run away from her. _Mitarashi Anko-san_ had avoided her. Mitarashi Anko-san didn't want to fight her!

The pink-haired kunoichi was shaking all over. She was more powerful than the purple-haired tokubetsu jounin. Anko wasn't a baka. She knew how to assess the situation, how to assess her opponent...and the woman had thought that she–that Haruno Sakura–was stronger. That was the only reason why she would run away like that.

But, even as elation ran through the kunoichi's body, realization chased after it...realization that Anko was here, and that she might not be alone...realization that there was probably a reconnaissance team of four people out there, looking for her...realization that her sensei might very well be one of the people on that team. Kakashi-sensei. She had disappointed him enough. She really didn't want to see him right now.

"Kabuto-san," Sakura said as she turned to look at the spectacled man. Kabuto tilted his head up a little to look at the girl, a questioning expression on his face. "If you're done being held hostage, I would like an explanation of what was going on." Her face was beaming with a bright smile in Kabuto's direction, but the man couldn't help but feel an ominous pressure on his chest. There was venom in that smile, and if he didn't answer her question, she was bound to poison him with that venom.

But he had to tell her later anyway, so he complied.

"There was a reconnaissance team here," he said as he disentangled the loose ropes from his legs. Sakura had already cut him free, but she wasn't going to help him toss the rope aside. "A team of five: Mitarashi Anko-san, Hatake Kakashi-san, Yuuhi Kurenai-san, Sarutobi Asuma-san, and the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya." He held his glasses in place with his index and middle fingers as he rose to his feet. "They've come for you."

Sakura's eyes flashed in his direction for a moment, all semblance of amity gone for a split second as her mind registered what he had said. Five people, not four, on a reconnaissance team to find her. With five such powerful shinobi, this wasn't just an ordinary passing mission. Tsunade-shishou knew exactly what she was doing, where they were going, and what they were likely to encounter.

"Chikusho," she swore under her breath as she turned away from Kabuto. "Kabuto!" She called out more loudly to the man behind her, "get going. I'm going back to the compound." And she walked away before Kabuto could even think of beginning after her. His feet were still tangled in rope.

**I**t was a little while before Kakashi sensed something amiss in the air. He couldn't see it. He couldn't hear it. He certainly couldn't smell it. But he could feel something tugging at the edge of his mind. Something was wrong.

They were already on their way back after their final sweep of the compound to make sure that Sakura really wasn't there. They wanted to make sure they weren't missing any important clues, especially if those clues might say that Sakura was in Oto. But they had found nothing.

The premonition had come as a surprise, but Kakashi didn't have to stop the group to tell them that they were heading back to the cave. They were already doing that. They were already over halfway back.

Kakashi threw his hand up, a kunai in his clenched fist as he felt a purple whirlwind fall on him. For a moment, he thought that it was an ambush...until he heard Asuma and Kurenai call out "Anko," and Jiraiya call out, "Oh...! The girl with the big chest! What are you doing out here?" It took another moment before Kakashi fully realized that Anko had fallen onto him from the tree above.

"Anko," Kakashi said as he looked up at the purple-headed woman. "What are you doing out here?"

The woman thought for a moment before grinning down at Kakashi playfully. "Well...I think you will be happy about this, Kakashi-taisho. We can go home now."

Kakashi blinked up at the woman with his one visible eye and pushed her off him with a forceful shove. He sat up, staring at Anko. "You mean..." He could already hear what she was going to say. "...you've seen Sakura!" He knew that he might have only been optimistic, but there would have been no other reason for Anko to say they were all going to go home if she hadn't seen Sakura.

Anko grinned.

And Kakashi instantly knew that he was right. Anko had seen Sakura.

"We need a verbal confirmation, Anko," Asuma said, rolling his cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other. "We can't just rely on our intuition."

Anko turned to the man with a freakish grin on her face. "Of course I saw her, Asuma," she said as she pushed herself from the ground. "It was Sakura-chan alright. No mistaking that face. And those gloves!" She shivered for a moment. "She's definitely working for Orochimaru too." Her voice was dark as she said the name of the evil Sannin. "She rescued Kabuto."

Kakashi stared at the woman. His mind refused to believe what she had said, although there really was no reason for Anko to lie about Sakura...especially to lie about something like that. Those words had such a sense of finality to it. Anko had lost against Sakura. There was no way that the woman would have left her post without a fight. And Anko would never really admit that she had lost just like that. There was nothing that the purple-haired woman could gain from lying like that!

"Sakura...and Orochimaru." The sharingan user mumbled to himself under his breath. "She's...working for him." His mind was slowly trying to accept it...but something just didn't seem right! There was no reason why Sakura would want to go to such an evil man. She hated Orochimaru!

But he had a mission to do, and no matter what his inclination was–which would be to barge right into the compound and drag Sakura out and back to Konoha–he had to finish his mission. He could–and he would–come back for her later, with people more suited to fight whatever might come their way. This ragtag team of shinobi he put together on a whim, just a group of people he thought might be useful in this mission, wasn't really here to infiltrate a hidden village and retrieve a nukenin.

"We..." His mind screamed at him to give the order, to just go on and tell them to go into Oto, to bring Sakura back. They had Jiraiya with them. That was enough to take on Orochimaru and whatever minions he might want to send after them...but he couldn't do it. The old Kakashi who loved the rules refused to allow him to do it. And the new Kakashi who thought about his team refused to allow him to do it either. If he gave such an order, he knew that they wouldn't all return alive. Sure, Jiraiya would be alright, and he would probably be fine, but Anko was under the spell of the cursed seal, and Kurenai and Asuma were just regular jounin. It wasn't as if either Kurenai or Asuma had ever been ANBU like him. If they had been, it would at least have worried Kakashi less. "...should go back to Konoha and report this to Hokage-sama."

Silence.

Kakashi looked around at the four shinobi that surrounded him, and noticed that they were all staring at him. "What?" And he was self-conscious. "Is there something wrong with my face?" His mask was still on. His hitai-ate was still on straight.

Anko looked away, not sure what to say. She had to admire someone who could take the mission into perspective like that...but she wouldn't have expected anything less from an ex-ANBU.

Asuma and Kurenai both continued staring at Kakashi with mild admiration on their faces. Even Asuma's cigarette almost fell from his mouth. They both knew that it must be difficult to hold back. Sakura was here. They were here. Kakashi was so close to bringing her home. They knew that if any one of them were in Kakashi's place, they would have rushed right in and hauled her out.

And Jiraiya...

...the white-haired Sannin walked up to Kakashi with a huge grin on his face, draped his arm over one of Kakashi's shoulders and led him slowly away. "Kakashi," he said slowly, with the same tinge of perversion that was always in his voice, "when we get back to Konoha, I'm going to allow you to do some 'data-gathering' for my newest book." And he could see the reluctance that had contorted the grey-haired jounin's face slowly rise at the thought of helping with a book of the Icha Icha series.

'_Am I a genius, or am I a genius?'_ Jiraiya thought as they walked away.

But everyone there only thought of Jiraiya as a pervert...a very, very big pervert.

**End Chapter 6**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Anyone who has read the reviews will notice that there is one debating the use of "…" otherwise as the three dots—or as said in the English community, ellipses—in the story. I have replied to that message, but I realize that a lot of people think that there should be four dots at the end of a sentence, and three in the middle of sentences. This assumption is false. The reason why people think there should be four dots is because there is an extra dot for the period at the end of the sentence. However, the only reason why there would be "…" at the end of a sentence is if the sentence is incomplete. It denotes a trailing of the voice because the speaker has chosen to leave something out. Even if the sentence sounds complete, if the ending is with "…" there is something missing. The three dots denote that there is something missing when used at the end of the sentence, an incomplete sentence, but what about the middle? The three dots in the middle of a sentence cannot possibly mean that there is something missing! But, "…" in the middle of a sentence denotes an exceptionally long pause, even longer than with a "," (comma). It denotes a place where the sentence might end if the speaker had actually decided to change the subject, or if the speaker had decided to just stop. After "…" in the middle of a sentence, the words that come after it might not necessarily be a part of the sentence before it. Think of it as a Frankenstein—monster pieced together from different parts—of sentences. The "…" are stitches holding different parts of a sentence together; however, the different parts of a sentence might not necessarily be from the same sentence. For example, a person thinking about many things at once might speak in broken language. Of course you'll have thought between those broken phrases so that the reader will understand what you're saying, but what other characters hear will only be the broken words, and the "…" comes in handy then to create confusion, apprehension and tension between characters. "…" is a device like irony or personification. Don't overuse it because it will lose its effect. It's not just for a character's voice trailing off. There's a reason why it's there.

Fire's babbling:

Sakura: Waah! Make him go away!

Orochimaru: Who?

Kakashi: She means you.

Fire: Why?

Sakura: (hugging herself) What are you all blind! He's still trying to rape me!

Orochimaru: O.o What!

Fire: I'm sure he's not trying anything like that.

Sakura: He's still trying to give me that stupid cursed seal!

Orochimaru: But you want the cursed seal!

Sakura: He's confusing me with Tsunade-shishou!

Fire: Uh…can't you work something out?

Orochimaru: I'm going to go find Kabuto.

Kakashi: (smiling inconspicuously) I didn't know he was missing.

Fire: Good luck!

Sakura: (shivers) Good riddance.

Fire: If you were wondering if you read right, the answer is yes. That is OrochiSaku. There's just a hint of it, and I'm not going to go any further than what is already there so she's not going to fall in love with him or anything like that. Don't worry if you're screaming in horror.

Sakura: (shivering) I'm still screaming in horror.

Kakashi: Thank goodness. I didn't want to have to kill Sakura's boyfriend.

Sakura: He's not my boyfriend! He's old enough to be my grandfather!

Fire: I wish you'd all just work out these problems somewhere else. The readers don't want to hear you argue.

Kakashi: And why did I bring Anko! She's not doing anything important! She's probably planning to kill me for teasing her like this!

Fire: You thought that it was a good idea at the time. I'm sure she'll come in handy. She does know Orochimaru and how he thinks. That must be an advantage.

Kakashi: (slumping in defeat) Yeah, I guess.

Fire: (turning to the audience) I better ask you to review before they start arguing again, or go off into another crisis about things they're doing in the story. So, review! Review! Review!

Kakashi: Didn't I tell you not to brainwash the reader?

Fire: That was in the other story.

Kakashi: Oh, yeah.

Sasuke: (running up, out of breath) I'm…here! I'm here! Now we can begin. (looks up at the dialogue) You already started without me!

Fire: Uh…we didn't know you were going to come today.

Sasuke: Arrgh!

Fire: Well, review. I'm sure you don't want to see Sasuke's tantrum.

Sasuke: I'm going to kill you all!

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	8. Seven: Scar of the Sakura

Fire: This is _Wait for Me: Following_ chapter 7. Welcome back!

Sasuke: How are you so sure that they're not new readers?

Fire: New readers don't start at chapter 7.

Kakashi: That makes sense to me.

Sasuke: Urusai!

Fire: Don't yell at your sensei!

Sasuke: Urusai, Fire!

Fire: Sasuke's in a bad mood today…

Kakashi: …because he's still not back yet.

Sasuke: I'm not in a bad mood!

Fire: Maybe some reviews will cheer him up!

Kakashi: (drags out the Big Bag of Reviews and pulls out a window) The first review!

Fire: (reads the window) First for this chapter.

Kakashi: Is it good news?

Fire: (turns the window around in hands) I…don't know.

Kakashi: (confused) How can you not know?

Fire: It's a lot of encouragement, but I'm confused about what 293581623046 reviews are. Oh well, I guess Diet Soda will tell me later when there's more time.

Kakashi: And?

Fire: Nothing else. I replied with the reply button, but thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to make the storyline a little clearer in the upcoming chapters if you were confused about anything that happened before. Anything confusing is supposed to be foundation or foreshadowing of something else, but since you're only reading only one chapter per week, it might get confusing. Gomen nasai.

Kakashi: Better pull up the next chapter before Fire starts talking again. (pulls up chapter 7)

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**Chapter 7: Scar of the Sakura**

**T**he sun had set a long time ago, and Sakura could no longer see the open scroll in front of her, but she didn't care. She didn't really want to look at it. She wasn't in the mood to memorize another useless, weak technique that Orochimaru hadn't thought fit to keep for himself.

The man she had sent to Konoha had returned while she was away.

She hadn't actually thought that he would return. Sasuke and Naruto were buried so far into the village that it wasn't possible for someone of that man's rank to steal their ashes. And he hadn't. He had returned without them.

It was just as well. She didn't really want them with her. If they were here, they would see how pitiful she had become, how horrible she had become. Even though she was tired from excessive study, even though her eyes were threatening to bleed lest she sleep, even though her body weighed more than her fortified strength could lift, and even though Orochimaru was annoying her with his useless techniques, she had no excuse for acting so horribly. She had really allowed herself to disgrace their memory, and she didn't deserve even their coldest words.

The kunoichi stared down at her palms, and in the darkness that surrounded her, she could faintly make out the dark lines worn into rough callouses. These held the memories of her childhood, of the life she had before. These were memories she had wanted to leave behind.

The girl lifted a kunai from the pouch at her side and poised it over her hand.

These were memories she didn't deserve.

"Yamete kudasai, Sakura-sama!" Kabuto grabbed her arm before she could cut the memories from her hands.

Sakura glared at the man, the hatred pouring unstoppably into the room with every angry breath. She hadn't given him permission to enter her room, so what was he doing here?

Kabuto stumbled back at the glare, holding his hand as if suddenly burned. The intensity of that hatred froze his body and made his bones shake beneath his skin. "Orochimaru-sama requests your presence."

And the glare melted into a bewildered stare. Orochimaru had requested _her_ presence? In all the time she had been at this compound, he had never requested _her_ presence. She always had to seek him out for herself! She couldn't think of any reason why he would want to see her except...

'_The cursed seal!'_ He had said something about a prime example of the cursed seal, and he was going to show it to her!

"I–I'm going!"

Sakura ran out of her room before Kabuto could say anything more. If she took too long, Orochimaru might change his mind. Whatever it was, she had to see it. She had to learn it, even if she would never use it.

"O-Orochimaru!" Sakura threw the door to Orochimaru's study open. He was always here when she needed him. She assumed that this was where she would find him again.

But study wasn't the right word for this room. With the glowing jars on one side of the room, the dead bodies near the remarkably clean dissecting bed at the other side of the room, the beeping of machines and computers from somewhere in the back, the open scrolls with their unreadable language sprawled out in strange areas and pinned to the walls, and the single chair that belonged to Orochimaru, this was anything but a normal study. However, Sakura couldn't think of another word to describe this room. She always thought of it as Orochimaru's study, just as Tsunade-shishou had always spent her time in her study.

And it was empty. Sakura stared at the suppressed din of the room and scanned every unoccupied space again, but it was still empty even after she looked around for the fourth time. She was wrong. He was somewhere else.

Disappointment filled her body as she realized that she was in the wrong place...until a jar appeared in front of her face.

Sakura plucked it out of the pallid hand and stared at it, but she didn't have to look at the name to know what it was. "A present, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru said, even as he took it from her again. He walked pass her into the room and set two jars on the only table in the room. "Close the door behind you."

But the girl was stunned. She was rooted to the ground, and her feet refused to move. She had thought that they were gone. The man she had sent had said that the ashes weren't there. But all along, Orochimaru had them. He had had them from the start.

Cold gold eyes stared out at Sakura from across the room, waiting for her to carry out his command. Close the door. And it took a moment before the girl could move her limbs enough to comply. She didn't know why this man had those ashes, but she was definitely going to find out.

**O**rochimaru was pleased as he looked at the two jars. He had wanted proof that his young apprentice was dead, but he never thought that it would come in handy. The two boys had been buried together, so it wasn't a marvel that his minion had brought both jars to him. However, he only needed one.

"Sakura-chan," he said as soon as the door was closed. He had to say it otherwise he might say the other name, and earn himself another slap to the head, and he was too old to handle too many of those anymore. "Come!" And he pulled a scroll from his side as he leaned back in his seat. "I have a gift for you."

Sakura shivered. The dark atmosphere of the room was pressing against her, and she couldn't help but feel that he was planning something. "Orochimaru," Sakura said slowly, the old Sakura returning into her voice for a moment before she strengthened it. "Does your gift have to do with these jars?" Jars which she knew very well. Jars that shouldn't have been in Orochimaru's possession in the first place.

The girl stopped before she was within arm's length of Orochimaru. This was about right. She could attack him if the need arose, even if she wasn't likely to survive it.

But Orochimaru was laughing, chuckling with that dark rumbling of his voice. "Such suspicion," he said slowly before raising emotionless eyes up to the girl. He leapt forwards to grab Sakura by the arm, pulled her to face him so that there was nothing to distract her from what he had to say. "This is important..." ...because he had deemed it important... "...so listen well!" It had taken a lot of thought but he had decided. This was necessary.

_Orochimaru looked up as Kabuto walked into his room. He hadn't thought that he would see Kabuto walk into his room this easily again, so he was a little surprised. And the Sannin was going to punish his foolish subordinate for his careless behaviour, until Kabuto spoke._

_There was a reconnaissance team here. _

_There was only one thought that ran through his mind as the pale man took in the information that Kabuto offered. There was no doubt in the Sannin's mind that the information was correct. There would have been nothing for Kabuto to gain from lying to him. If Orochimaru died, he was definitely going to take Kabuto with him._

_The one thought was of Sakura. He knew that the team–Kakashi's team–was here to find her, and because of Kabuto, they now knew that she was here. And that meant that they will be back, and they will be back soon to retrieve Sakura._

_Time was running short for his plan. If he still wanted to go through with his plan, he couldn't put it off any longer. He would have to go on to the next step. Now._

Orochimaru had decided what he was going to do, and he wasn't going to go back on his decision. He wasn't good at giving up.

"I'm going to do you a favour," he said as he lightly ran a finger across Sakura's neck, from the back of her ear to the tip of her collarbone. He had thought of where would be best...but it wasn't as if he had really thought about things like this before. Although Tayuya had chosen a place where no one could see, he never thought that it was that ugly. However, on a girl, aesthetics was important. But then, Orochimaru didn't think that he could just put it on the back of Sakura's neck. Her hair was too short.

"Orochimaru," Sakura said slowly as she looked into frigid gold eyes. And she knew what he was thinking. "Get away from me!"

The kunoichi pushed the Sannin away with all her strength, effectively dislodging herself from the man's grasp. But the pale man's fangs sank into the muscle of her bare shoulder, and Orochimaru caught her again.

'_Shan...naro,'_ Sakura thought before pain seized her body and her subconscious rose up to surround her. It was just as she had thought. _'The cursed seal...'_

The girl slumped against Orochimaru, the power of the seal overtaking her body. Dark purple chakra trickled from the black marks that formed on her shoulder.

The Sannin held the girl for a few moments staring at the limp body before draping her onto the dissecting bed. He had thought it over for a long time, and this was what he had decided. If he wanted to go on with his plan to destroy Konoha, to bring the wheel of motion back into this stagnantly peaceful world, he had to break the Will of Fire within this girl's body, the will to protect Konoha.

The plan he had decided upon was dangerous. He could very well kill her by giving the seal to her, or his plan would fail even if she awoke. But, he could see no way around this problem, and he had already done it. There was no time for regrets. Besides, he was too stubborn to stop anyway. He had given the seal to her, even if he hadn't originally intended to put it on her shoulder. There was no going back now. Whether she survived or not was up to her.

**K**abuto had to wonder what Orochimaru was planning. His master had stared at his scrolls all day, and then ordered him to get Sakura. Then, he had come out, looking as he did when he killed Sandaime Hokage, as if he had lost the usage of his arms all over again. There wasn't a word spoken to the spectacled nin, but Orochimaru hardly ever said anything to him unless he needed something. But in this case, Kabuto already knew what he wanted.

He knew as soon as he looked into the study. The pink-haired girl was lying on the dissecting bed as if she was a guinea pig ready for whatever torturous experimentation its master had planned. She was lying there, and he knew. Orochimaru wanted him to keep an eye on her.

It wasn't as if she could run away, or there was anything particularly interesting about this specific transformation. The seal that the pale man had given to the girl wasn't even special. It wasn't as if it was a new seal that no one has ever had before.

It was the Gaia seal, the same seal that Kimimaro had used before his demise. Kabuto wasn't even that surprised. This seal was as powerful as the Heaven seal given to Sasuke-kun, and Orochimaru needed Sakura to be as strong as possible for his plan to work. And he wasn't going to give her the Heaven seal. It was still too soon, too close to Sasuke's betrayal for him to use that seal.

No. There was nothing special about this girl...except that she was important to Orochimaru's plan. If she was going to die–and there was a very large possibility that she wouldn't survive the transformation–the Sannin wanted to know about it immediately.

So, Kabuto sat watch over the girl, waiting for the chakra to saturate her body and poison her heart against the Leaf that had sheltered her since the day she was born.

**S**akura didn't know what was happening. She was acutely aware that the setting around her wasn't normal. There was something wrong about the grey atmosphere that surrounded her. But, she didn't really think twice about it. In this place, her mind controlled everything, and there was no reason to think that it was any different from the reality that her waking mind knew so well.

It was just that she didn't know where she was.

In the distance, somewhere in front of her, she could hear the quiet sobbing of a girl. But the dull grey light that encompassed her completely swallowed the image of that girl. The only sense that was of any use was her hearing.

There was no arguing with it. Her body moved forwards of their own account. The kind heart that ultimately resided at the very centre of the hardened shell which she had built around herself wouldn't allow her to stand around and do nothing when there was someone crying.

But her body froze as soon as she saw who it was. In the distance, as she moved closer to the sound of the crying girl, she could see pink hair tied with a Konoha hitai-ate. It was very different from the Oto hitai-ate that resided there now.

It was herself.

Sakura had read about the visions that the cursed seal induced. If she couldn't figure out the vision, she would die. The pain that came from the visions would kill her. The chakra that infused her body would kill her.

"_Sasuke-kun..."_ Her other self, herself only three months ago, was sobbing, knelt at the side of two bodies she knew all too well. _"Naruto..."_

The familiar names cut through the real Sakura more truly than any physical kunai or shuriken, more easily than any adept ANBU katana. The stabbing pain that tugged at her heart, spilling the bitter blood of loss that she had tried so hard to keep bottled inside, was more damaging than any kage ninjutsu.

These were names that she hadn't heard for such a long time. Even she had never said them aloud, for fear that she would lose her nerve and go back to the world she had left. But she could never allow herself to go back to Konoha. She had a promise to keep to herself, and to her teammates. She had to do this.

"_They didn't have to die,"_ her other self sniffed. _"I could have saved them."_

Sakura was much calmer than she thought she would be. The words had no effect on her. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she knew that that statement was wrong. "No," she corrected herself. "I couldn't have saved them."

The other Sakura looked up at Sakura. _"Yes, I could have!"_

"The wound in Naruto's lungs had reopened when the fuuma shuriken hit him." She hadn't known at the time, but she knew now. The ruptured capillaries in Naruto's lungs, facilitated by a powerful attack about three months prior to his death, must not have healed properly. Even if Tsunade-shishou was there to help, there would still have been haemorrhaging and blood clots. What could _she_ have done if even Tsunade-shishou couldn't have healed him? "There was nothing I could have done." And Sasuke... By the time she arrived, he was dead. "There was nothing!" She refused to believe that she could have saved Sasuke. That was impossible! If she could have done it, she...

"_If I was stronger, I could have saved them,"_ the other Sakura said slowly, her eyes darkening as she stared up at the real Sakura. _"Because I wasn't faster, they died. Because I wasn't more powerful, I couldn't heal them."_ She held up her bloody hands, hands covered with Naruto's blood after her many failed attempts at healing his wounds. _"If I had more power, I could have saved them. If I had power..." _The girl trailed off before speaking again, as if her mind was connecting to the real Sakura's somehow.

And before Sakura could stop herself, she was persuaded.

**K**abuto was entranced. He had never actually had a chance to watch something like this before. The purple chakra of the cursed seal was actually visible and emanating from the girl's body. This was something that he just never had the time to really see.

But, he wasn't going to get the chance to watch it for much longer. Almost an entire day had passed since the girl was given the seal, and if she hadn't died by now, she wasn't going to die. At least not yet. She was going to wake up soon. He had seen enough seal transformations to know that she was going to wake up soon.

And she did.

Sakura sat up, her hand rising quickly to her shoulder where the seal pulsed with pain. It was trying to spread across her body. Even the little chakra that she was using, even though she wasn't in a fight, was enough to make the cursed seal react.

'_Kuso. I'm going to kill that baka Sannin next time I see him.'_

Then, she realized that Kabuto was staring at her. "Nani?" She stared at him with long forgotten innocence as she waited for his answer.

But he was more surprised that she had survived than he appeared. The thought had passed through his mind, but he hadn't actually believed that she would survive.

"Oh, nothing, Sakura-sama," Kabuto said slowly as he watched her closely. He felt as if she might collapse at any moment, might fall to the power of the cursed seal and die. "Is there anything you need?"

Sakura glared at the annoying man, the innocence vanishing instantly from her face. "No," she said coldly. No matter how nice Kabuto was trying to be, she couldn't forget what he was here for. He was here only to watch her in place of Orochimaru. And Orochimaru only wanted her for...

She didn't know why Orochimaru wanted her, but it couldn't be good. There was a reason why he gave her the cursed seal. He couldn't have given her power just because she had asked him for it.

She stared down at the strange marking on her shoulder, her mind numb to everything around her but the glare of light off Kabuto's glasses. She had the cursed seal, but she didn't feel stronger.

Then, she caught sight of it. The dim electric lights that lit the study finally brought the two jars to her attention. Those two jars!

Sakura jumped from her seat on the dissecting bed and stopped beside the jars after two long strides. She remembered them sitting there, waiting for her. She didn't know why Orochimaru had brought them here, but...

She clutched the two jars against her chest even though Kabuto's watchful eye bore into her back. She was glad to have them with her again. She didn't deserve to have them here with her, but she was happy to be around them again.

'_And I promise...soon, Orochimaru will die.'_

She couldn't help but think of her promise as she held the two jars in her hands.

'_If I had power, they will all die.'_

**End Chapter 7**

---------------------------

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

How do I do it! Now, the answer is here! Okay, too much enthusiasm, but this is very exciting, and also very hard for new writers to do. I've had about ten years of habitual experience, so it's easy for me, but I'm not sure if you'd want to do this. I have quotas. That means that I have a set number of words per story that I have to write, and anything over that is extra and carries over to the next day. At the moment, my quota is 3000 words per story, per day. That means that if I'm working on three stories at once, my quota in total is 9000 words! I calculate the number of words for the day with the formula: total number of words ÷ number of days in total that I've been working on this story average words per day and the answer must be over 3000 at all times. If it isn't over 3000 then: (3000 – average words per day) + 3000 quota for the day. That can be hard, especially if you miss a lot of days. And that's just one story! That's why if anyone wants to put this into practice, start with a lower quota and slowly work your way up if it's too easy. It'll help you with your writing if you're on a schedule since you're conditioning your brain to think about it at will. This will also help with writer's block! But think hard before you do it. I don't want complaints about not being able to stop writing. I literally can't stop. This is a habit for me, formed over years and years. If I don't do it, I can't sleep until I do. And I don't eat when I write! It's weird. I'm weird! Ahh! (freaking out and running away) Writing is so unhealthy!

Fire's babbling:

Kakashi: (staring at the English tidbits) What Fire was trying to say is: _Warning: Writing may cause side effects if used daily over a prolonged period of time. Please use with caution._

Sasuke: (shaking his head) And Fire's running around again.

Kakashi: That's a bad thing? At least Fire's getting in some good Taijutsu training!

Gai: Great idea Kakashi! Lee, one hundred laps around the window!

Lee: (salutes) Ossu!

Kakashi: Umm…the window's not big enough for that.

Sasuke: Go away! I'm trying to get some time alone! I finally get to host the babbling column!

Fire: (stops in front of the group) I'm back!

Sasuke: (cursing under his breath) Kuso.

Fire: First off, I want to apologize to anyone who likes Sakura…like me (sniff). I'm so mean to her in this story. Poor Sakura.

Sasuke: What did you do to her?

Fire: Read the chapter!

Lee: (avidly rereading the chapter) Sakura-san!

Fire: Now, I want to hear what you think, so review. Review! Tell me if you hated this chapter. Tell me if you feel sorry for Sakura. Tell me if you don't feel sorry for Sakura. Tell me if you want her to suffer more. Tell me if you want her to suffer less. Does the story make sense? Aaah! I'm going crazy! Send me a review!

Sasuke: Come back next chapter. By then, Fire should be back to normal.

Lee: Sakura-san!

Kakashi: Ja ne!

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	9. Eight: Hail of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter 7! Chapter 7! Chapter 7!

Kakashi: How is this helping?

Fire: I'm excited because Sasuke's going to be back soon!

Kakashi: What about Naruto?

Fire: (confused expression) …

Kakashi: You know…Naruto?

Fire: Naruto…? Do I know a Naruto?

Kakashi: Blond boy, blue eyes, about… (raises his hand to a little over his shoulder) …this tall with a loud mouth, and orange and black jacket and black hitai-ate?

Fire: Oh! That one!

Kakashi: He's going to be back too, right?

Fire: Yes, of course! Now, give me a review!

Kakashi: (sighs as he pulls a review out of the Big Bag of Reviews) Why do I feel like a drug dealer?

Fire: Yay! A review! (reads the window avidly)

Kakashi: Tell us about it.

Fire: Some people are annoyed that Sasuke and Naruto aren't back yet. But like I said, they will be back soon.

Kakashi: How soon is soon?

Fire: About chapter nine, but that's because there's something very important that's taking up all that space otherwise Sasuke would have been back in chapter eight. That was when he originally returned, but I added a few things to make the story more comprehensible.

Kakashi: What about Naruto?

Fire: What about Naruto?

Kakashi: (sighs) Just go on to the next review.

Fire: Kabuto isn't out of character. If you analyze him in the anime and manga, he is relatively nice to people he's allied with, mean to his enemies, and completely obeys Orochimaru, even if he has to kill their previous allies. The bottom line is Orochimaru is law, and everything he says must be obeyed. That includes the latest manga chapters. Read carefully. I'm sure you'll get what I mean. There is a lot of evidence to back it up. Just pick a chapter/episode! So if you think that he's too nice, that's because he is! Combined with the fact that he's a little afraid of Sakura, confused about whether she is an enemy or an ally, and that he has to follow Orochimaru's orders to keep an eye on her, he virtually becomes Sakura's servant. It's supposed to parallel the way he acted around Sasuke. The example is in episode 134 of the Naruto anime and chapter 238 of the Naruto manga, where Sasuke arrives at Otogakure no Sato. Note the strange behaviour exhibited by Kabuto.

Kakashi: I hate him.

Fire: That's because Kakashi is a control freak and doesn't like the fact that Kabuto is usually in control of the situation whenever they're around each other. But that's a part of Kakashi's psyche. That will come up later in this story. Other than that, Sakura will become Orochimaru's slave. That hasn't been proven in the series yet, and there is no information to back that up. All that we know is that one of the side effects is that the user will lose their humanity if they use the seal for prolonged periods of time. That means that the more you use it, the more likely you're going to die. The fine print says that the user will lose his or her free will. That just means they will lose their ability to think for themselves, so they could be slave to anyone. And don't forget that this is after prolonged exposure to the cursed seal. There are other side effects, but I don't want to bring them up. Kakashi's going to yell at me, then Sasuke's going to kill me. But what I'm trying to say is that as long as Sakura doesn't use too much of the seal's power, she won't come under its control.

Kakashi: Make Fire stop. (calls up into the rafters to unseen slaves) Roll the chapter!

---------------------------

**Chapter 8: Hail of the Sakura**

**T**he pain was still intense after a few days. Sakura couldn't imagine how Sasuke had lived through it. She could barely move even though the seal had already settled itself in her skin like a more painful permanent tattoo. But she could handle it. She could handle the pain that cut through her body like a hot kunai through flesh. She could handle it because she had no other alternative.

The jars were hers. There was a note attached. Orochimaru had given them to her like a constant reminder of her goal here. They sat precariously on her bed, staring back at her with their unblinking eyes. But, that was just her imagination. The jars didn't have eyes. Those watery blue eyes and those coal black eyes didn't belong to the boys she had known just three months ago.

Sakura hadn't seen the pale Sannin after he sank his teeth into her shoulder and left her to...die? Was he trying to kill her?

The pink-haired kunoichi walked to the two jars as her mind bubbled with overflowing thoughts that ran into each other like psychedelic kaleidoscopes filled with ideas. There was the overpowering feeling of weakness in her body, and at the same time, there was the overpowering feeling of strength in her mind. She could feel the desire to have Sasuke back fill her body, but the desire not to kill anyone for the sake of him filled her body as well. There was the extreme hatred for Orochimaru, and the knowledge that she needed him to get what she really wanted. There was...

There was only confusion.

Sakura grasped the two jars in her hands. The hard ceramic was cool in her hands as she sank onto the hard bed. It was the bed of prisoners, not of a proper guest and master, another reminder of her true status here. She was a prisoner of her goals.

"What should I do?" She asked herself as she stared down at the two jars. In one hand was Naruto. And in the other jar was Sasuke. She could definitely see which was which. Naruto's jar had the red Uzumaki spiral, and Sasuke's jar had the red and white Uchiha fan. It only depressed her more to see the two urns.

'_When I die, will there just be a snake?'_

The thought slowly formed in Sakura's mind.

'_Or a slug?'_

Sakura's mind rolled to the side as she placed the jars neatly on the ground. She wanted to treat them with more respect, but there was really no other place to put them. All the shelves were covered with books she had to read. The lone table on the far side of the room was stacked high with even more books and scrolls. And the stalagmites of books that grew from the ground offered no available space into which Sakura can clear a shelf or table for her friends. Sakura just hoped that she didn't lose them, or trip over them and spill everything onto the ground.

But, she had other things to worry about. As soon as she thought about it, she could see that there was no way around it. She had already come so far. There was no reason why she couldn't just continue.

'_Please forgive me, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-shishou.'_ She had entertained the thought of returning home after this. After she killed Orochimaru, after she gained revenge for Naruto and Sasuke's deaths, she thought that she could go home. She could finally return to Konoha and die there.

But she couldn't do it now. If she did this, she could never bring herself to face them. She could barely have faced Kakashi-sensei on that cold August day outside Orochimaru's compound. It had taken all her strength just to say no. Because she wasn't Sakura now, not the Sakura that he was searching for. She didn't want him to see what she had become, what she was going to become.

To obtain her goal, she would have to kill someone.

**O**rochimaru was pleased as soon as he saw the kunoichi. He had gotten what he wanted. Those ashes had tainted her, as he had planned. Those ashes had made her think. Now, the girl was...different...from what she was before the cursed seal. She was slightly more...slightly more...

Orochimaru couldn't think of the exact word for it, but she was different. And she was different in a way that benefited him. The hesitation that he saw in her movements before, as she held the books he gave her–the useless books that had useless information, the books that would have gotten her nowhere had she studied them without his guidance–was gone. She stood with unwavering determination on her face, waiting for the knowledge that she knew only he could give her.

He had called her to him. She hadn't just come to him because she wanted something, but he could tell that she wanted it now. The power that he had to offer her…this special brand of power that only he could give her…she needed it, and she couldn't see any way she could continue without it.

"Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto handed the jar that Orochimaru had ordered taken from Sakura's room to the Sannin. It was the only jar out of the two that he was interested in.

"What did you call me here for?" Sakura stared hard at Orochimaru. Her eyes had the same hardness and determination that she held long ago in that chuunin exam, when she decided that she would become stronger...except now, she hadn't really become as strong as she had wanted to be. She had wanted to be strong enough not to have to depend on her team. She had wanted to be strong enough to protect herself on her own, if not everyone else as well. She had wanted power for a lot of little things that were important to her, that were still important to her in a lot of different ways. Now, she needed it for another reason, and she didn't have time for Orochimaru's strange misleading requests.

"I think it's time I taught you something..." Orochimaru said slowly, almost as if he was choosing his words carefully, thinking of what to say so that she would actually understand him, "...useful."

Sakura stared at the man in suppressed disbelief. He had said useful. She doubted that it would really be useful, but she wasn't going to show her doubt. If he was lying, she could leave. There were plenty of other sources from which she could draw power. Akatsuki was one of them. If she couldn't kill Orochimaru first, she could begin with Akatsuki. She had already killed Akasuna no Sasori. Technically, they should welcome her into the organization. She would replace the man she had killed.

And she could destroy them from the inside.

She was fed up with wasting time. That vision had renewed her determination once again, and this time, she wasn't going to allow it to fade away. She wasn't going to let the comfort of this place, the routine of going through useless books, and the attachment of having a sensei again to draw her in when all of it was going toward nothing.

And Orochimaru saw it in the girl's shaking body. She wanted to leave. She has been waiting for so long that she could wait no longer. If he didn't teach her something soon, he was going to lose her.

But he had already decided to teach it to her, just as he had taught it to Sasuke. This was a technique that would break her soul and let out all the evil that ran through those supernatural veins. This technique was going to harden her, so that she could do what he wanted her to do. She was going to help him destroy Konoha. She would help him kill Tsunade. And then, he would dispose of this igniting explosive note.

Orochimaru wasn't an idiot. No matter how others saw him, he was still a genius of Konoha and a Sannin. He was powerful, even if he was the weakest of ten Akatsuki members. He was intelligent, even if his plans hadn't succeeded. But none of those were faults of his. There would always be someone more powerful, no matter how powerful he was. There would always be uncertain variables to overthrow his plans, no matter how well thought out they were. Even the plan he had in mind at that moment, as he stood in front of Sakura, could still backfire on him. But if he didn't try, he would never succeed.

"I have decided to teach you a powerful kinjutsu." He held the jar out to the girl and she stared at it with eyes that softened for only one moment. She understood, even if he hadn't told her. "You will resurrect him with the power I have given you." Because without the cursed seal, this girl could never hope to do what he asked of her.

The mark of power engraved on her shoulder glowed with the pulsing of Sakura's heart. _'He can't be serious!'_ Her mind was calling out in aggravation as the world crumbled away from her body. All she saw was Orochimaru's face in a curtain of darkness. All she felt was the throbbing ache of her heartbeat as the whisper of Sasuke's return haunted her. _'Bakemono.'_ The Sannin was a monster for making her consider it. _ 'Bakemono!'_

And relief washed over her, a sad relief as she realized that this was truly her last chance. He was dead, but she could bring him back. She had to bring him back. This was her last chance. She might never get to see Sasuke again.

Tears pricked her eyes before Sakura bit back the flowing emotions within her, bit through her lip to drip blood across her mouth. No matter what, she refused to cry. Even if the prospect of seeing him again was tearing through her soul, she refused to cry.

'_He–'_ And as she looked up through the emotional vortex within her, she could see clearly. _'He's serious.'_

The sign of the Uchiha clan rested against her palm, but neither Sakura nor Orochimaru needed to look to know that it was there. The boy was useful enough for Orochimaru. So, he was useful enough for her. Besides, Orochimaru knew something about the blond jinchuuriki that Sakura didn't know. It was best to break her with this and leave the other where he was. That was a complicated equation that he never wanted to touch.

"Fine," she said sternly so that the tears which threatened her at this unwelcome and welcome surprise didn't overflow.

She wanted to do this. She wanted Sasuke back. Yes! After all this time, after discovering that he didn't love her, after discovering that he wanted to be with Naruto, after discovering that he was with Naruto, after discovering that he was dead...after all that...she was still thinking about him! She wanted to bring him back. She wanted him to be with her again. She wanted to see his face again, and she wanted to be able to touch him again.

"Call me tomorr–"

"We begin immediately."

And Sakura glared at him. His tone allowed for no argument. _'He's evil.'_ She was tired. She had awoken from the cursed seal's fevered nightmare not long ago. She still hadn't recovered. The seal was still draining her chakra.

She could die.

"Fine." But she wasn't going to pass on this opportunity. She wasn't going to back down. If she did, Orochimaru might never offer it again. This was her one chance. And she had to take it. "We can begin immediately."

**L**ee was pacing at the gates, waiting for Kakashi and his team's return to Konoha. He was denied the permission to go with them, but that didn't mean he was no longer interested in whether Sakura-san was there or not. If anything, it only made him more anxious to know. He wanted to know! He wanted to know if Sakura-san really was there!

'_Sakura-san...please tell me that it's not true!'_ He couldn't believe that she would just go to such a horrible man as Orochimaru. He knew that she hated him. She could never forgive him for what he had done to her, to her team, and to Konoha. So, why would she endure it? _'Onegai shimasu, tell me that you're not with Orochimaru!'_ Even though he wanted to know where she was...even though he wanted to find her right now and bring her home, he just waited. He had to know first. Was it true?

"Kakashi-sensei!" A green-clad arm shot up and waved vigorously as soon as he saw the tuft of grey hair in the distance. "Kakashi-sensei!" Lee was shouting so loudly that there was no way that the man couldn't have heard him.

Kakashi stopped as he saw the green-clad figure at the gates. For a moment, he thought that it was Gai, waiting for another challenge, and he was about to run away–he had a report to give to the Hokage and he didn't have time to deal with Gai–but he distinctly heard the words 'Kakashi-sensei' and knew that it had to be Lee. Gai would never call him 'Kakashi-sensei.'

"Don't tell me that you want to know the outcome of the mission," he said tiredly as he looked at the young man. Lee nodded in stern determination. Kakashi could see that he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one. "The mission was–" Kakashi stepped out of the way as he felt a dangerous presence approach from the side...

"Dynamic Entry!"

...and crash into the gates.

"I'm going home," Kurenai said as she saw the mass of green splattered against the tall Konoha gates. This was too much for her to handle, especially after a gruelling mission.

"I'll go with you," Asuma said, even as he continued to stare at the sight, his eyes round enough to pop out. After a moment, Kurenai dragged him after her.

Anko and Jiraiya were already gone.

"Kakashi, that move was cool and youthful. I wouldn't have expected anything less from my ETERNAL RIVAL!" Somehow, Gai was back on his feet with blood gushing from the small wound on his head.

Kakashi turned away from the man's blinding smile and thumb's up. "Lee, how would you like to emulate me for a while?" He asked with a pleasant smile. If he wanted to be like Gai, he would want to be like anybody!

"Uh...no, Kakashi-sensei," Lee said slowly as he saw Gai slump from the corner of his eye. "I just wanted to know if you've found Sakura-san." He took a step back from the grey-haired man. That was a strange request, but the thought of himself dressed with a grey wig and mask, giggling into an orange book, was ridiculous.

"Lee..." Gai was staring at his student from the sidelines. Lee wasn't going to abandon him!

"The mission was successful," Kakashi said with a tinge of worry in his voice, his eyes distant as he spoke. The jesting words he had exhibited only a moment before was suddenly replaced by a more serious tone. "It has been confirmed. Haruno Sakura is in Oto no Sato."

The ex-ANBU watched as Lee's face brightened at the news...then fell into unfathomable depths of contorted worry and apprehension. It was true. The kunoichi was in Otogakure. Sakura was with Orochimaru. And Lee couldn't think of any reason why she was there.

**I**n the Hokage office, at the top of the Hokage tower, Tsunade screamed at a young shinobi who had come into her office, asking to go to Oto no Sato to retrieve Sakura. It wasn't the first, the second, or even the twentieth young man today. "Get out! Get out! Who do you think I am!" She wasn't a travelling service. She wasn't booking free trips to Otogakure. "I have work to do!" Tsunade was growling to herself in frustration when the door finally closed after the annoying boy.

And it opened again before a moment had passed.

"Hokage-sama–"

"I said get out!" Tsunade shouted as she pulled up a heavy paperweight with her hand. She held it over her head for a moment before she saw who it was. "Lee?"

Round black eyes stared at Tsunade in silence before Lee threw his arms up in defence. "Don't hit me, Hokage-sama!" He shouted.

Tsunade looked at the paperweight in her hand for a split second before pulling it behind her back. "Lee! What are _you_ doing here?" He was just here not too long ago. She didn't really expect him to come back, unless...

"Hokage-sama, I want to go to Otogakure no Sato, onegai shimasu!"

Tsunade sank back into her seat with a sigh, the paperweight rolling silently from her hand to the ground at her side. She should have known. Everyone was coming to see her about that today.

Just the day before, Kakashi had come back with the news, and she had thought nothing about his telling Lee that Sakura was in Otogakure. She had never thought that it could spread out into the village this quickly. She had thought that it would have taken a little longer before people heard. She had hoped that it wouldn't spread this far until the rescue team actually left for the mission.

"As Hokage, I cannot just assign anybody to this mission," Tsunade said slowly, her hands coming together in an arch in front of her face. She looked at Lee over that arch of fingers. "I will consider it..._if_...you can prove to me that you will be a vital part of the team."

Tsunade had thought about denying Lee outright. She hadn't given a single one of Sakura's fanboys a chance to prove that they might be able to bring her back. But then, those young men didn't even know Sakura! As one of Sakura's friends, Lee couldn't be handled as just another fanboy.

Lee was staring at Tsunade now. He couldn't believe what the woman had said. "I promise I will bring her back!" He already thought that the woman had said he could go. "I won't come back without Sakura-san!"

'_Well, he certainly has ambition...'_

Tsunade smiled at the young man. He was a strong shinobi. He had strong ties to Sakura, and to Team Seven. He wanted to go. She couldn't deny him permission again. He might actually be able to persuade the kunoichi to return.

The woman pulled a mission form from the short pile of three forms at her side. She had set her mind on it. This time, she was just going to allow four shinobi on the mission. Kakashi was one. "Go. Bring her back," the blond woman said as she stamped the form and handed it to a wide-eyed Lee. "I'm sure you'll be able to help."

Lee took the document with the Hokage's official stamp shining red at him. He couldn't believe it. He had half-expected to fail. There was no doubt in his mind that he would succeed, but his heart was on the verge of feeling that there was nothing he could do to help. And those contorted emotions only shone brighter with the surprise on his face.

"The mission will begin when the other members of the team are chosen. Be ready to leave at any time."

Lee allowed himself to stare in wonder for a little while longer before he straightened himself and held his hand out in a thumb's up. "I will be ready, Hokage-sama!"

**End Chapter 8**

---------------------------

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Today will be about the use of double negatives. If you're confused about what those are, here's a short explanation. A double negative relates to the redundant use of two negative elements. Those of you who have studied English and those of you who are native English speakers will realize that this is incorrect grammar, and it is so obviously incorrect grammar, so why am I talking about it? The answer: although a double negative is incorrect, the use of a double negative can be termed a writer's device. The double negative is used to create a sense of optimism and determination, especially if you're writing about someone overcoming obstacles. In that case, the double negative is a positive statement where two negative elements are used to create a positive force. For example, "Sasuke cannot not kill his brother." This normally denotes incorrect grammar. The correct use should be "Sasuke can kill his brother;" however, the two statements mean completely different things. The first statement says that Sasuke will not give up until he has killed his brother. Not doing it is not an option. The second statement merely denotes that Sasuke has the ability to kill his brother. Whether he does it or not is not even in consideration. But like all devices, use the double negative sparingly. You don't want it to lose its effect.

Fire's babbling:

Sasuke: Lee's in this story more than I am!

Fire: (cringes) You'll be back next chapter, I promise!

Sasuke: I better!

Kakashi: Why do you keep forgetting about Naruto?

Fire: But it's complicated. Even Orochimaru said that it was complicated! He said that there was something about him… Well, I can't tell you about it yet since it's going to come up later. But it's complicated, very complicated!

Naruto: Nani!

Fire: But don't worry. We can work around it.

Kakashi: That means that you might not return, Naruto.

Naruto: No!

Sasuke: No! My dobe has to come back!

Fire: We'll see. Now, review, even if they're complaints about Sasuke and Naruto not being back yet. I know that it's taking a long time, but Sakura was thrown off track by Orochimaru. This is what happens when you let the characters have a little freedom.

Orochimaru: I will destroy Konoha.

Fire: We'll see.

Kakashi: You're not going to let him destroy Konoha, are you?

Sasuke: What about me and Naruto!

Fire: Next chapter, we bring back someone very important. See you then!

Sasuke: MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME!

Fire: Important to the storyline. Ja!

---------------------------


	10. Nine: Fall of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter 9 is here, finally! Hi!

Kakashi: You sound out of breath.

Fire: I've been running from Sasuke.

Kakashi: Why?

Fire: You'll see. Now, where are my reviews?

Kakashi: (pulls a window from the Big Bag of Reviews) Here.

Fire: Yay! Reviews!

Kakashi: Now, while Fire answers the reviews, you can read the story. Or just listen to the general concerns.

Fire: There are no general concerns to address this chapter. That'll make this a lot shorter. Sasuke comes back this chapter, so for the Sasuke fans…I don't really know what to say except that I really tried to bring him back sooner. But, there is a very important person to the plotline who is taking up all the space, and you'll meet him in this chapter too. Can you guess who it is? Well, you don't really have to guess. There are lots of clues until you find out at the middle of the chapter. If it wasn't for him, Sasuke would have come back about two chapters sooner, but it wouldn't have made much sense, especially since Sakura's character is difficult to corrupt.

Sakura: Shannaro!

Fire: Anyway, keeping this short, gomen nasai to the Sasuke fans. To the Naruto fans… (turns to Kakashi, turns to Sakura, then looks at the audience again) …he'll be back even later. Gomen nasai to the Naruto fans! (bows in apology)

Kakashi: So where's the SasuNaru then? You said this was a SasuNaru!

Fire: (turns to Kakashi) Huh? Oh…that. You'll see. There's definitely SasuNaru, but that comes after this subplot in the next subplot of the story.

Kakashi: You're evil.

Sakura: Let's just go on with the chapter. (pulls up Chapter 9)

---------------------------

**Chapter 9: Fall of the Sakura**

**D**ark ash covered her hands, the ashes of a dead man she never knew. They stained her nails with unremovable black, and she couldn't help but sigh at them with a frown. Her hands felt so surreal, as if they weren't her hands. Because her hands could never hold the ashes of a dead man.

It was only practice. Orochimaru had wanted her to bring back someone before Sasuke-kun, so that he could be sure she could do it. He wasn't saying that he didn't trust her, but he was saying that she should practise first.

Sakura couldn't blame him. This kinjutsu was a complicated ninjutsu, and she wasn't good at ninjutsu. She had practised day and night, and she still wasn't confident that she could do it. She was just certain that she was tired, and that she was going to collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

And she did collapse. Her hands were blackened, and her body was sticky with the sweat of heavy concentration. The body was moulded into the crude form of a man and she was almost ready to demonstrate her ability. She was ready to show what a few days of practice could do.

'_Kuchiyose Edo Tensei!'_

Sakura never knew that there was so much preparation in this technique. She never knew that it could be so complicated. Usually, all that ninjutsu required was for the sensei to give the seals and for the student to practise it. But those ninjutsu were much simpler than this kinjutsu. This kinjutsu had so many steps to it. Building that body was just step one.

But she had finally mastered it.

She had problems building the body of ash. Usually, ash melted when it got wet, and all she got was a black puddle. And too much dirt was bad because it interfered with the main purpose of the technique. The entire reason why there was ash and dirt was because it was supposed to anchor the soul to the body. The last few times she had tried it, she had failed completely to finish the first step and continue on to the second step. So, Sakura was glad to see that the body was reforming into a real face and limbs.

Then, there was the second problem. Even though she had decided what she was going to do, and even though she had told herself that she was going to stick to it, and even though she told herself that she was going to have to kill someone to get them back, to continue with her plans, her nerves and the old Sakura that still lurked at the back of the new Sakura's mind still made her hands shake every time a new sacrifice was brought in.

She refused to think of them as anything else. She refused to remind herself that they had family, friends, lives they led, pets they owned, sensei somewhere, people they loved as much as she loved Konoha and all the people she had left in it. If she had allowed herself to remember that they were human, she would have hesitated. Her hand would have stopped before it could cover their faces with the ash and dirt. And she would never have come so far.

She hardened her heart with the promise she refused to break, and now, her work had come to fruition. She had...

Sakura's eyes widened as the man stared down at her, his expression of contempt only outlining the hatred that he had for his new master. And the kunoichi could only turn to Orochimaru with vile bitterness written on her face. This must be a joke. The Sannin couldn't possibly have expected her to accept this man as her minion!

"You don't like him?" Orochimaru asked as he looked down at the redheaded man. Flesh and bones, or as close to real flesh and bones as he was ever going to get. It had been a long time since Orochimaru saw this man's face. He had thought it would be funny to see the girl's reaction, and the look on the kunoichi's face was enough to make him want to do it again. "You could order him to kill himself." He could almost laugh at the torturous expression writhing on her face but that was until...

Sakura looked away, throwing a kunai at Orochimaru. But Kabuto deflected it before it could hit the Sannin. It was only expected that she would miss. She hadn't really expected to hit him.

"Congratulations." Orochimaru's voice was filled with suppressed bile which tainted his now forced joy; he was pleased with the outcome until she threw that kunai. That kunai marked the failure of accomplishing this trial's goal. "Now, on with the next step." It was obvious that he was displeased with the outcome. After so many people had died at the hands of this girl, she still refused to crack. Her spirit was still as strong as the day she walked into his compound.

And it was obvious when she spoke. "I refuse to use this man's techniques." She refused to use this man altogether!

"Then summon someone else," Orochimaru said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He didn't care. The more people she killed, the sooner she came to destroying herself. The sooner she came to destroying herself, the closer she came to becoming his slave. And the closer he came to victory over Konoha.

But the room was silent as Sakura stared at Orochimaru. He had to have more sense than what he was displaying at that moment. He was making himself sound like Naruto. That statement was so stupid!

"After you've had some rest, of course," Orochimaru added before anyone could say anything. The cursed seal had spread across Sakura's body and all her chakra had been drained. It was using up her stamina just to stand where she was. "We continue tomorrow."

**K**akashi had given himself one week. That was as much time as he was willing to waste before returning to Otogakure. He was impatient to return and bring Sakura back. As her sensei, he was worried about her, and worried about what she might do. A girl in that frame of mind, in the frame of mind affected by a bleeding heart, was capable of anything.

However, he had pressing matters on his mind that called for his attention first. Who was he going to bring with him?

He didn't have any shortage of people to choose from. There were plenty of strong people waiting for him to call. One of them was his good friend, Uzuki Yuugao who had promised to avenge Hayate's death. But Kakashi couldn't bring her with him, even if she had the passion to kill Orochimaru. That wasn't his mission. He wasn't going to kill Orochimaru, although it would be a bonus if they could accomplish that too. They were going to Oto no Sato to bring Sakura back.

And for that, they couldn't just be strong. There were many other strong, powerful, exceptionally skilled shinobi in Konoha. He needed the people on his team to be a little more than that. He needed them to be able to help him reach Sakura. The girl was stubborn, as stubborn as Naruto and Sasuke used to be. She wasn't going to come back to Konoha just because he asked her to. She had a reason for going to Oto no Sato. Kakashi had no idea what it was, but he knew that for her to throw away her life, just for the power Orochimaru was offering, it must be important.

She wasn't going to come back without a fight, and she will definitely be stronger than she was before she left. A lot stronger.

That was why he had put so much thought into whom he was going to bring with him, even if he had only allowed himself a week to figure it out. But then, he didn't really need a week to think of whom to bring. He had already thought of who would be best, although Lee wouldn't have been his first choice.

His first choice was...

The jounin stopped in the middle of the busy street to look at the sign: Yamanaka Flower Shop. The person he was searching for was inside. It didn't take any ninjutsu to figure that out. As he looked through the window, he could distinctly see the girl with long blond hair standing in front of the counter.

Ino. That was whom he was here to see today. If there was anyone who could talk some sense into his kunoichi, it was Ino. And if Sakura didn't listen, Ino could just force her to come back. Plan B: Shintenshin no jutsu. He would deal with anything that Sakura had to yell at him, or throw at him, later. As long as he could bring her back safely, there was no anger in this world that could deter him.

"Ohayo, Ino," Kakashi said as he walked into the flower shop without a second thought. Ino would never turn down this coveted mission, and he knew it. She had wanted to go to Otogakure as well.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino said in her excited voice. She already knew what he was there for.

And she agreed to the mission as readily as the fourth member of the team when Kakashi asked him, but it wasn't as if he was going to refuse. He, as well as Kakashi, knew that it couldn't be done without him. Kakashi needed a backup in case Ino couldn't do it. The jounin remembered what had happened at Team Seven's first and only chuunin exam together. He couldn't place all his hopes in Ino.

That was why he was going. The chuunin wasn't that close to Sakura–in fact, he didn't really like Sakura–but Kakashi knew that he could count on him. This young man was more reliable than most chuunin his age.

And Kakashi was confident that with their help, he would accomplish his mission. Sakura will be back in Konoha before he knew it.

**T**here was just one more thing that Kakashi needed to do before he left for the dangers of Orochimaru's hidden village. There was someone he needed to see, although he saw him everyday. But Kakashi couldn't allow himself to miss even one day to remember what he was doing there.

Obito at the cenotaph. Kakashi couldn't not come to see Obito. The pain of losing one teammate was enough. So after Sasuke and Naruto, he couldn't allow himself to lose Sakura too.

'_Obito, I think I understand.'_ The one eye uncovered by the heavy weight of responsibility on his hitai-ate closed as he sent his thoughts out to the dead. _'There was no way that you couldn't have gone after Rin.'_ He had thought of ways to stop him, a million different scenarios, but they never portrayed Obito correctly.

He had tried to understand all those years ago but had failed. Back then, he had gone after him, but only because he couldn't have accomplished the mission on his own. One person out of four wasn't enough to destroy a bridge. However, he really understood now. He understood what must have been going through Obito's mind.

'_There's another Rin now and another team. Don't hate me, but I have to be the old me for a little while longer.'_

The day Obito gave him this eye, they became one person; Kakashi had never stifled Obito's personality within him. They had always competed in ways common among many shinobi, to be stronger, to be better than each other, but no matter what happened, Kakashi couldn't help but feel that Obito would have been stronger, better, greater than he was. Without this eye, Kakashi would have been nothing. Only one original technique, and without the eye, he wouldn't even be able to use it!

As he looked down at the name etched forever in a stone that would eventually melt away with the rain, his voice was light... "I really am worthless, ne, Obito?" ...as if joking, waiting for Obito to say 'no, you're not worthless.' The name would fade, but for as long as he lived, that name was going to haunt him, and he would allow it.

Because he knew that it was true.

They wanted to become great shinobi, as great as and better than Hatake Sakumo, than the Legendary Sannin. But only Obito really had the potential to do it.

'_If you knew she was there, you wouldn't have left her.'_ Kakashi couldn't help but dwell on that day in Oto when he heard the news from Anko. _'But you wouldn't be able to handle this problem on your own. I can't come to save you this time.'_ Now wasn't a time for recklessness. This was a serious matter, and if he acted imprudently, he might actually lose Ri– Sakura this time. _'So, allow me to work with you again to save her, okay, Obito?'_

He waited for Obito's answer. He stood at the monolith and stared down at the name, waiting for a sign that it would be okay. But the answer didn't come. Obito never answers any of Kakashi's questions. He always left it to his commander to decide what was right.

And as usual, when Kakashi looked up into the sky, he was late to meet with the team again. Even on such an important day as the day they left for Oto no Sato, he was late. But he knew that the three chuunin wouldn't mind. Today, there was no one there to blame him for Obito's lame excuses. There were only the nagging complaints of a kunoichi who said she could have spent more time deciding what was the best outfit for this trip, the wordless sigh of a chuunin, and the flaming excitement of a mini-Gai, waiting for him at the gates.

It wasn't the proper way to greet him, but Kakashi didn't mind the change, as long as it wasn't for too long. That was why he had to bring Sakura back. Who was there to call him lazy and a liar? Everyone else respected him too much. Only she could see him for the despicable man that he was.

So this time, there was no uncertainty within him of what he might encounter, or whom he might encounter. There was no uncertainty over what he should do when he got there. There was nothing in his mind to wonder about what procedures to carry out, or how they should proceed. No. All those things, he left in Konoha. He had planned everything and his plan was flawless.

'_Obito, onegai. Let me be myself for a little longer.'_ If he allowed himself to be reckless, the plan would only fail. And he couldn't allow that.

He had to bring her back this time. As he walked out of the hidden village toward a village of unknown hazards, Kakashi knew. He had to bring Sakura back, or die trying.

**S**akura sat in a chair that she had cleared of books and scrolls, her eyes fixed on the redhead standing in her room. She had nothing to fear from him, not that she had feared him before. In fact, she feared him even less this time. This time, he couldn't hurt her. This time, he had no power over her.

"So..." the kunoichi said slowly as she watched the man. He looked exactly the same as before he died. "...how did Orochimaru..." She chose her words carefully. The Suna-nin was difficult before his death, and she wasn't sure if he was going to give her a straight answer now. "...get your ashes?" Even if she was his master now, she couldn't help but think that he might rebel.

And she was right. "Worry more about what you're going to do," the redheaded man said darkly. He was just as annoying as before his death.

"Answer your master!" Sakura yelled at him. "I resurrected you. You're supposed to obey me!"

"Your technique is flawed."

"Sasori, answer me or I'll undo the tensei," Sakura threatened through clenched teeth even though she didn't know how to undo the tensei. But it wasn't a matter of how his ashes came into Orochimaru's possession. She didn't really care about that, even though she was a little curious. It was a matter of whether or not he would listen to her. If he didn't listen to her, he might actually kill her in her sleep!

"Orochimaru was supposed to dispose of my body after I've become a puppet. Obviously, he didn't do that," Sasori said with the same easy smile that he always had on his face. It was hard to disobey her when she was being so forceful–the tensei didn't allow him to disobey–but he could still annoy her while doing her bidding. "I didn't expect you to end up in a place like this, kunoichi." The way he said kunoichi was filled with venomous disrespect.

"That's Sakura-sama," she said sternly.

"Sakura."

Sakura glared at the man, her chest heaving with suppressed frustration. Sasori only smiled as Sakura fumed. This was more fun than he has had in a long time.

"That's it! I'm ignoring you." Sakura turned her attention to the piles and piles of useless books and scrolls strewn around the room. "Baka," she uttered under her breath.

"Who's the baka?" Sasori was still smiling at nothing in particular. He doubted that even Orochimaru realized that he still had his own mind, but that just made killing the Sannin more fun later. "I'm not the one being used by Orochimaru."

"Urusai, slave."

"You're being used," Sasori repeated, but Sakura really was ignoring him. "I know him better than you do. I told you that he was my partner when we were in Akatsuki." He paused for a moment to see if the kunoichi was paying attention to him, and even though she didn't look like it, he knew that she was listening. "He plans to use you, then he will kill you. That seal will slowly eat you from the inside."

"I know. What of it?" Sakura was still feigning disinterest, scanning over the words of an open scroll, but she wasn't registering a word of it. She was too busy listening to Sasori, as surprising as that was. "I'm going to kill him anyway." _'I DIDN'T just say that aloud! Shannaro! The ears in the walls must have heard THAT!'_ "Sasori, bring me..." She stopped. What was she saying! She had to kill Orochimaru now, while she still had the element of surprise on her side!

"A human sacrifice?" Sasori held up the urn with the Uchiha crest. She was going to resurrect one of them, right? Unless Orochimaru had found a way around it since he first developed it, that was what she needed. From what Sasori remembered, that was how it worked when he helped the Sannin first develop the technique.

"No!"

But Sasori had already walked out the door into the hall. He didn't like waiting, and if she was going to do it eventually, he saw no reason to wait. "Here's one!" The puppetmaster held up a man who was running toward them. "Kill him. He's a spy anyway."

"Nani!" No matter what the man was, Sakura wasn't going to kill him!

"I knew you were weak," Sasori said under his breath, cursing the fact that this was his master. "Fine. I'll kill him."

"Nani!" Sasori was going to kill him! He was already holding out a kunai. "No!" Sakura grabbed the kunai from his hand... "Don't kill him." ...and accidentally slashed the spy's hand. She stared at the bloodied blade in her hand before looking at the man. "Uh...gomen nasai, Ossan!"

"And you're apologizing to the spy who was going to expose your plan to Orochimaru like he was someone important because...?" Sasori stared at the girl before looking down at the kunai. "You're going to kill him?"

"No."

Sasori grabbed the kunai back from the girl's hand and frowned at it. "Yokata," he said with a tired sigh. "You've bloodied my kunai." He took out a handkerchief and wiped it clean. "How can I use it now?"

"Like this," Sakura said, sudden anger flaring up as she pulled the kunai from the man's hand, and stabbed the puppetmaster with it. Sasori fell to the ground as if dead. "That's how you use it, baka!"

"I'm dying, Sakura."

"Sakura-sama!" And he couldn't die. He was already dead!

Sasori sat up and stared at her. "Kunoichi." Then, he fell down again.

"Che!"

"Are you going to cut his neck open now?" He was still lying on the ground.

"No."

"How about ripping open his skin and making him eat it raw before removing his stomach and liver?" And intestines...but that was one of the steps in making a hitokugtsu.

"Eww, no."

Sasori sat up and stared at the kunoichi. "Then how are you going to kill him?" He pulled the kunai from his gut and looked at it. There was some blood still on it, but other than that, it was clean enough. He took his handkerchief from the ground and continued wiping it clean. "My kunai is still dirty. How am I supposed to use it?"

"Eww! Eww! Eww!" Sakura was still dwelling on what Sasori had said.

"You're not going to let him go, are you?" That question brought Sakura back to her senses. She _wasn't_ going to let him go. "And my kunai is still dirty."

Sakura grabbed the kunai and threw it at the wall where it completely embedded itself, past its handle. There was no way that Sasori was going to be able to pull it out.

"You owe me a new kunai, Sakura."

"Sakura-sama!"

"Kunoichi."

"That's not my name!"

"You're very intent on that, aren't you?"

"Urusai!"

"Are you going to kill that man now?"

"I said, urusai!"

"Well, are you?"

Sakura stared at the spy who was now trying to sneak away. He was trying to inform Orochimaru of her plans. Then Orochimaru was definitely going to kill her. The Sannin wasn't just going to allow a hazard to reside so closely to his person. She couldn't allow the spy to leave, but she couldn't keep him with her either. If she kept him with her, he was bound to either kill her or eventually escape to Orochimaru.

"I'll..."

"Scoop out his eyes and make him listen to his screams?"

"No!" Sakura glared at the Suna-nin. He was making all these disgusting suggestions on purpose! "I'm going to..." What was she going to do?

"Kill him mercifully like a weakling? Just like a woman..."

"I'm going to summon Sasuke-kun," she decided as her eyes fell on the urn.

"Just like a woman, asking a man to clean up her mess."

"He's dead, baka!" Sasuke-kun wasn't one of her servants!

"Just like a woman, making excuses to not clean up her mess."

"That means I'm going to kill the spy, baka!"

"I'm smarter than you, woman."

"That's Sakura-sama! I'm your master!"

"You really want that to be true, don't you?"

"I summoned you!"

"There's a flaw in your technique. I believe I already mentioned that. You're not my master, Sakura-chan."

"Ugh...yeck! Don't call me that!" Her body convulsed in a shiver. That was the most disgusting thing she had ever heard, and Sasori had just listed a lot of disgusting things.

"Why not, Sakura-chan?" Sasori smiled as he saw her fall to the ground in disgust, her hand smashing the floor into rubble as she tried to keep herself from vomiting. The kunoichi swallowed convulsively, trying to keep the bile down. "It's close to sama, Sakura-chan."

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Again, Sakura-chan?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what, Sakura-chan?"

"That!"

"What's that, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm," Sakura said slowly as she pulled the spy by the arm, consequently crushing it as she pulled him forwards, "going to..." She was trying to keep her angry self from killing the man, her shaking hand sinking into his face as she muffled his painful screams. He was biting her hand, but that only served to keep her calm, although it was still a feeble attempt at that. "...kill him now."

"By ripping his head off, Sakura-chan?" It looked as if the man's head was going to implode.

"I'm going to summon Sasuke-kun!" Sakura snapped at the puppetmaster. "Now, damare or I'll use you as the sacrifice!"

"I'm dead. It won't work, Sakura-chan."

"What did I say!" She screamed at him, her hand ripping right through the man's head. The headless corpse fell to the ground as she stomped angrily to the Suna-nin.

"And you said you weren't going to rip off his head. Just like a kunoichi to lie about what she was going to do, giving false hope to a dying man." Sasori shook his head slowly from side to side. "I didn't know you were so cruel, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stopped at the puppetmaster's words, her mind suddenly cleared of all anger as she turned around. There was blood staining the books and scrolls lying on the ground, and the blood was still spreading. Red-splattered footprints followed her angry footsteps to where her feet stood, and tiny puddles led to where her hand was still dripping with newly spilt blood.

"Are you going to summon that servant to clean this up now, Sakura-chan?"

"You're cleaning it!" Sakura snapped at him. "I need another human sacrifice!"

"I'll get it!" He pulled the door open and dragged another man into the room. "He's good, right, Sakura-chan?" And a puppet was suddenly standing at the other end of the room, cleaning the mass of blood that was quickly ruining the books and scrolls on the ground.

"I didn't say use a puppet," Sakura said slowly as she grabbed the new sacrifice from Sasori's hand. She was slowly getting used to what he was saying. _'Shannaro.'_ And she didn't want to get used to it! "Stop calling me Sakura-chan, baka!"

"Okay, Sakura. Whatever my master says..."

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine, I won't call you master."

"Just hand me the jar, Sasori," the kunoichi said, a little defeated. It was useless to argue with him. He never listened before. It wasn't as if he was going to listen now.

"Here you go, Sakura." The jar was handed to Sakura by a puppet hand. And she was looking at a puppet. A very ugly puppet.

"Where did all these puppets come from?" Sakura couldn't help but wonder. She thought that she was supposed to only summon _Sasori_ with Edo Tensei. There was nothing about puppets.

"I summoned them, Sakura. I thought you'd be smart enough to figure that out, _Sakura_."

"You're annoying me."

Usually, Orochimaru held the sacrifice down with kanashibari, but he wasn't here to help her. She had thought to use kanashibari too, but she wasn't adept enough at ninjutsu to do that and use Edo Tensei at the same time. And she didn't have that much chakra. Even with the cursed seal, she still needed all the chakra that she had to kill Orochimaru later. Rope was more reliable. Although in this case, the rope seemed to be her downfall.

The rope beneath her hands tightened a little too much and broke through the sacrifice's arms and legs.

"Nice, Sakura. I couldn't have thought of a better torture myself."

At which point, Sakura looked down and sighed. Broken arms and legs. She would need another sacrifice. She wasn't going to summon a Sasuke with broken arms and legs. She could, but she didn't want to. She wanted the human sacrifice for Sasuke to be perfect.

"Here! You can have this one, Sakura." A puppet held out another man. "This time, don't break his arms and legs, Sakura. I don't like waiting." He looked down at the tied up man. "Are you going to pull off the broken limbs and make him watch himself bleed to death, Sakura?"

"No! I'm going to let you kill him." She handed the tied up man to Sasori and grabbed the new sacrifice. Suddenly, she didn't care. She didn't care that all these people were dying. As long as she had someone other than Sasori around, she didn't care about anything!

He was so annoying!

'_Sasuke-kun, get here soon!'_

"Arigatou for the new puppet, Sakura." He looked at the man.

"He's probably weak. You're wasting your skills."

"I can modify it with weapons, and poisons, and..." He could think of a few ways to improve on it.

"I'll just smash it to bits," Sakura decided. It was easier than arguing with him.

"You're going to smash your first gift to me, Sakura? Just like a woman..."

"Urusai!" And she crushed the man's neck. He lay limp in her hands. And she needed a _live_ sacrifice for Edo Tensei.

It took another few half dozen tries before Sakura successfully summoned her dead teammate. Sasori's constant blabber and the fury that refused to subside from her strong hands kept killing the sacrifices or ruining them before she could use them for the technique.

But Sasuke finally stood in front of her. His dark hair and his dark eyes reminded her of the days when she was still happy. And when he said her name, she was suddenly the old Sakura again. However, that wasn't what Sasuke had said. In fact, he hadn't said a thing yet.

Sasuke was looking around. He has been in this place before, and he was in no mood for jokes. "Sakura, where are we?" His voice was cool and calm, the question slightly uncharacteristic of him, but he needed to confirm that they really were where he thought they were.

And when she heard that voice again, she felt her heart spill over with relief. She couldn't believe it. She had done it! She had brought Sasuke back!

But, his decaying body caught her eyes more easily than she thought it would. His decaying body. Sasori's body wasn't decaying, but Sasuke...

"Sas–"

Sakura was about to speak when Sasuke's hand on her hitai-ate froze her. Sasuke frowned as he saw the emblem. "You're a–"

And the kunoichi pulled herself back. "Aren't you going to continue with your technique now?" Sasori asked inquisitively as he looked at her, "There's still one more step, isn't there, Sakura?"

"I don't know that step, _Sasori_," Sakura snapped at the man. And even if she did, she wasn't going to make Sasuke into a mindless puppet!

"I'll walk you through it, Sakura. Now, just take out a kunai, or a shuriken, or anything, just an object that we can attach the fuda to." Sasori was suddenly instructing her.

He was definitely up to something. "What are you up to, Sasori?" Sakura couldn't help but think that he wanted something.

And Sasuke had heard everything. He knew Kuchiyose Edo Tensei. He knew every step and knew how it all worked. He knew what Sakura had done and what this redhead called Sasori near Sakura was talking about.

"Sakura, where are we?" Sasuke asked again with fuller force as he glared at Sasori. He hoped to draw her attention from the task at hand with his question even though he already knew. It was a cruel joke, but he was in Orochimaru's compound again. There was only one person that he knew could teach Edo Tensei to Sakura, and it wasn't this redheaded stranger. Orochimaru was planning something for Sakura, and he wasn't going to allow it. If he could stop him, he would.

The Uchiha remembered. Whenever he asked Sakura something, she always answered him with that annoying singsong voice. That was what he was expecting.

And she was about to speak. She was about to allow Sasuke to distract her, and fall into the past once more. She was about to allow him to pull her back in time to a place where she was still innocent, and capable of real laughter and real emotions, a time before she had become stone.

But Sasori walked forwards and stuck his hand in Sasuke's head, and when he removed his hand, the object that was there was gone. All Sasuke's emotions faded from his face, even though he barely had any emotions in him to begin with. His body livened with colour, no longer disintegrating with every breath. His hands and feet pulsed with energy that he just didn't have a moment before.

"Sasori!" Sakura shouted, angry as she realized what he had done. That was the second step. That was the part that she had read about but had never learned. "What did you do! Undo it now!"

"Can't do that, Sakura," Sasori said with the same calm expression that he always had on his face whenever he was annoying someone he wanted to annoy. "It's permanent. But as I was trying to explain before we were interrupted by this minion–"

"Sasuke-kun is not a minion!"

"He's a minion now." Sasori held a finger to his lips to silence the girl. "Now, as I was trying to say, this is a fuda." He held up a red piece of paper and held it up so that she could see. "You attach it to an object–any object–and lodge it within the summoning's head." He was treating her as if she was stupid. "At that point, the summoning should regain their vitality and be completely under your control. And of course, they will regain all their abilities from before they d–"

"I know," Sakura said bitterly as her cold eyes shot at him. "I didn't say you could do that." Now Sasuke was a puppet. She didn't want a puppet!

"You must write these exact words on a fuda," Sasori continued stubbornly. He wasn't going to stop because a _woman_ had told him to stop. "And you must attach it to an object. Orochimaru doesn't write it down because he doesn't trust anyone with this information, but the object anchors your will to the body, and the fuda overwrites the will of the spirit. If you forget one of these two important pieces, you will have no control over your puppet."

"This is not kugutsu."

"I didn't say it was," Sasori said as he placed the extra fuda down.

"I didn't say you could destroy Sasuke-kun's will," Sakura said slowly before turning to the Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun!" She shouted at the dark-haired boy's face. "Sasuke-kun, answer me!"

"Yes, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked. He had answered her.

"And of course, they will do everything you tell them to do, just like an obedient puppet. Since you were the one who originally summoned him, of course, he would obey you, Sakura."

And Sakura jumped on Sasori in anger. She had wanted Sasuke-kun back. She had wanted him to be with her, and to comfort her in her self exile. She had wanted him back so that she could talk with him and be around him. She didn't want a puppet!

Sakura's fists slammed into Sasori's face and torso even though she wasn't having much effect; Sasori had taken great care to attach chakra strings to her so that she couldn't really hurt him. But it was obvious. She was too angry to continue for now. Her plan would have to wait. First, she would have to beat up Sasori.

**End Chapter 9**

---------------------------

**Omake: After News of Sakura's Plan Reached Orochimaru, he Sent Oto-nin to Stop her**

**or**

**Where the Sacrifices Came From**

**T**he jounin held up three fingers, then two, then one. Everyone was ready to charge through the door they knew would lead to Sakura-sama. Then the door opened and a hand reached out, grabbing the jounin by the arm and dragging him into the room.

Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to do. Without their jounin leader, should they still continue?

"Yes," a man said, the second in command after their jounin leader. He was also a jounin, although not nearly as experienced. "Again on the count of—"

A scream cut through the air, and the sound of breaking arms and legs.

The second jounin leader closed his mouth for one moment, swallowing thickly before speaking again. "On the count of thr—"

This time, a puppet arm reached out from the room and grabbed him. Everyone stared at each other, not sure what to do. That was the second time now, and they were still confused about whether they should continue or not.

But if they didn't, Orochimaru-sama would kill them all anyway. It was best to just obey his orders.

One by one, they all disappeared into the room, but it wasn't by any effort on the shinobi's part. As soon as they were ready to charge into the room, another arm reached out and grabbed their leader.

Then, there were only a small group. They ran back to Orochimaru with the news of their failure. They weren't going to continue anymore. The screams from behind that door was more terrifying than anything the Sannin could do.

---------------------------

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Every day and everyday. Here's a brief explanation of the difference between these two words, and bear—yes, it's bear not bare—with me if it gets long. Everyday is an adverb and every day are two words, an adjective (every) and a noun (day). To remember when to use which version, everyday answers questions beginning with "when" and every day answers questions beginning with "what." For example, I do this "when," would use everyday, not every day. And "what" is a good day, would use every day, not everyday. Sorry for the "what" example. I thought it was funny. It reminded me of Tobi. This one was short. See you next tidbit!

Fire's babbling:

Fire: Here's some useless words!

Sasori: They're not useless.

Sasuke: Why am I a puppet!

Fire: Uh…

Sasori: It's easier to control you.

Fire: Here are some concerns you might have after reading this chapter. First, why is Sasori so chauvinistic? He wouldn't listen to what Sakura said in chapter 267 (when she threatened him and he just launched kunai at her), the quote from chapter 270, "And you call yourself a girl with that unnatural strength," and his comments on kunoichi doing useless things in chapter 275 are all allusions to chauvinism. He thinks she's too weak to listen to. At least he tolerates Deidara's weakness and illusions about art, right?

Sasuke: That doesn't explain the line about kunoichi lying about what they were going to do. That makes no sense. Sasori isn't that much of a chauvinist right? (looks at Sasori) But I might be wrong. I don't know him that well.

Sasori: (thoughtful and talking to self) That line didn't actually have anything to do with Sakura.

Sakura: That's Sakura-sama.

Sasori: (ignoring Sakura) That's a reference to the history of kunoichi. Female shinobi were usually put undercover for assassinations and espionage. As a result, they take on a different persona. Hence, kunoichi had special classes where they have to learn to act like normal women, like flower arrangement and calligraphy. If you don't remember those classes from Sakura and Ino's flashbacks into their childhood, watch or read it again; you're just wasting my time. The arts…although not as interesting as hitokugutsu.

Sakura: We get it! Kunoichi had to lie to do their job!

Sasori: That would make you a liar.

Sakura: I'm not a liar! (hits Sasori in the head)

Sasori: She doesn't do that a lot anymore. She has other things on her mind, like killing Orochimaru, and it really does only hurt her hand more than it hurts me.

Fire: As for the strange childish behaviour exhibited by Sasori in this chapter, he just wanted to annoy her. He was having fun, so he was kind of reverting back to his childish state. He has moments like that in the manga too. The anime isn't quite there yet, but it's in the manga. Read it! The chapters with Sasori in them aren't many. It shouldn't take long.

Sasori: You make me sound unimportant.

Fire: I'm only saying what's true. (turning back to the audience) There's the explanations on Sasori's behaviour. If you have any questions, like how he might be OOC, send me a review, or PM me.

Sasuke: That's it?

Fire: Well, still send me a review, even if you don't have questions. I want to know what you thought about this chapter, or just the story in general. It has a complicated storyline, so it might have been confusing in some parts. The chapters are getting longer, so I'm sorry if you don't want to read so much. There is an average of around 4000 words per chapter for the last chapters of the story where there was only a little over 2500 words average per chapter at the beginning. Don't flame me for the length. I don't like to drag out the storyline so I gather activities that happen at relatively the same time in the same chapter. I'll post up a timeline later, maybe, to explain what's happening a little better.

Kakashi: And Fire just keeps on talking…

Fire: Waah! Review! Send me a review! I can't say anything more than that. Sasori might make me into a puppet.

Sasori: (confused) I thought you wanted to be a puppet.

Sakura: No one wants to be a puppet. No one normal!

Sasori: I want to be a puppet. Puppets are perfect, the perfect body, the perfect beauty. Eternal. It lasts forev—

Sakura: (punches Sasori to the ground) Like I said, no one normal.

Fire: See you next chapter. Ja ne!

Kakashi: Bye.

Sasuke: Does no one care that I'm a puppet!

---------------------------


	11. Ten: Strike of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter 10! Double digits, yay!

Sasuke: You're being too enthusiastic.

Fire: Two digits, yay!

Kakashi: Reviews will calm Fire down. (holds out a review)

Fire: Reviews, yay!

Sasuke: It's not working.

Fire: That's because I already reviewed. Yay!

Sasuke: (sighs) I'm leaving. (shunshins away)

Kakashi: No! Don't leave with— (sighs) Anything you want to say before we pull up the next chapter?

Fire: Fighting today. Mindless fighting, yay!

Kakashi: It makes sense with the storyline, right?

Fire: Yes! Now on with the story! (pulls up tenth chapter)

Kakashi: You haven't said that in a long time.

---------------------------

**Chapter 10: Strike of the Sakura**

**K**akashi felt an electric presence in the air as soon as they neared Oto no Sato. A tickle at the back of his mind whispered to him about darkness and nightmares. A grim hand gripped his heart and froze the blood within his body, and the atmosphere darkened about ten shades as soon as they stepped into the area surrounding the hidden village. He just hoped that it wasn't a bad omen about Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke were gone. She couldn't leave too!

However, the grey-haired jounin wasn't about to panic in the middle of their mission. He might just be playing mind tricks on himself. It might just be the worry in his chest playing with his mind, but as he looked over his shoulder at the other three members of his retrieval squad, he could see the unmistakable signs that they had felt it too.

"There's something wrong, Kakashi-sensei," Lee said, all signs of his crying when he had to leave Gai at the gates of Konoha gone. "The air is too dense."

Kakashi stared at the chuunin. At first glance, the jounin hadn't thought that the boy could be capable of such a serious sentence, but he had said it. _'This is no time to be surprised!'_

"Uh...yes," Kakashi said, a little disturbed. Having a mini-Gai with him wasn't what he had in mind, but he couldn't have objected since Lee was on the official mission report. Besides, Kakashi hadn't really thought about whom he would bring as a fourth person. In truth, he hadn't thought about bringing a fourth person at all. There was really no one else he needed. Anyone would have been fine.

"What do you mean, 'yes?' We want to know what it might be!" Ino was shouting from Kakashi's side. "We might all get killed! You call yourself a jounin!"

And Kakashi couldn't help but give an inward sigh. He didn't know how Asuma managed to handle her.

From a little behind, the silent fourth member of their team sighed inwardly also. _'Mendokuse.'_

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino shouted again.

"Well, I don't know what it can be," the grey-haired jounin said with a nonchalant air. He really had no idea what it was, and he had no intention of telling them what he feared it could be.

"Nani?" Ino sounded even more annoyed than before.

"We're nearing the village now, so try not to yell like that or we're all going to seriously die."

Ino closed her mouth immediately.

Kakashi turned back to the path ahead of them. He wasn't just lying to stop Ino from yelling at him. They really were close now. Soon, he will get the chance to see if he really could convince Sakura to come back.

He just hoped that what Tsunade had said wasn't true.

**T**hey were preparing for the attack. Orochimaru and Kabuto had heard of it, and they had already sent people to Sakura's room to execute her. The Sannin had scrapped his plan as soon as he heard. It was too much of a liability to continue with that plan. He would just have to destroy Konoha without her, and that wasn't too hard. He was already planning to do that before Sakura came. It would have just been easier if he had used the pink-haired girl.

But the sound of fighting in the halls told the Sannin that the kunoichi was near. She was going to do what she had come to do. She was going to kill him, just as his many spies had said.

Sakura burst into the room, the cursed seal already marking half her body. She was trying to suppress it, but she didn't have the will that Sasuke had. There was no one here asking her to stop. There was no one here that she had to live for, except maybe everyone in Akatsuki, but after she killed them, there was nothing more.

"Ah...Sakura-chan, I was expecting–"

"Urusai, baka jiisan!" Sakura had had enough of his useless words. He was just like Sasori, and Sasori had just talked nonstop for the last half hour. She just wanted some quiet! "Sasori, kill him!" She shouted as pain shot through her body, arresting her muscles for a long moment.

"You want _me_ to kill him, Sakura?"

"Don't argue with–!" Sakura felt the cursed seal bite through her arm and spread over the rest of her body. "Just do it!" She had already used a lot of chakra. It was almost time to stop.

"Just like a woman to have a man to do all the work."

"It's a gift. Think of him as a gift," Sakura said slowly through clenched teeth as she tried to keep herself on her feet.

"What do you mean, Sakura?" Sasori knew what Sakura meant, but she was obviously staggering in pain and he wanted to watch her suffer for a while longer. And it was funny watching her try to talk when her body wanted to collapse. He actually wanted to laugh.

"Kill him, baka!" Sakura had taken to calling him that over the last half hour. He didn't like to be insulted, but she couldn't think of any other way to provoke him. At least he knew when she was angry.

"You think he can kill me, Sakura-chan?" Orochimaru liked watching the drama unfold in front of him as much as Sasori did, but he wanted to kill her now. "Sasori-kun, step aside."

"Sasori-sama is under Sakura-sama's control. He's not going to obey your command, Orochimaru-sama!" Even Kabuto could see that. _'Maybe Orochimaru-sama needs a new body.'_ This body was already growing senile.

"I'm going to kill you too," Sakura said as her foot wobbled to the ground. The seal was slowly eating her body and she could feel it. "Kabuto." But no matter what, she was going to kill that man!

"Oh, I'm really scared. Sakura-sama's angry with me." Kabuto smiled at his own sarcasm.

Then, Sasuke fell on Kabuto from the ceiling. But Kabuto had stepped aside at the last moment. Sasuke had missed. Sasuke's kunai fell against the ground in a spray of broken rocks.

The Uchiha wasn't one for nonstop talking. That was what Orochimaru did before an important battle. He just wanted to kill his opponent, go home and train some more. That was his habit. That was what he did in order to kill his brother. Itachi was dead now, but he couldn't just break his habit so easily. At least that was what the summoning was telling himself, even as his body moved without his volition.

"Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru was a little confused. He had thought that Sakura couldn't finish Edo Tensei. Sasuke definitely couldn't have taught it to her, but...there was one other person in this room who knew his technique. "Sasori-kun, how can you be so stupid?"

"I can't help it. She's so cute when she yells," he said sarcastically. He was lying about the cuteness of his master, but it was fun to see her annoyed.

And the sound of fighting in the halls finally stopped. The entire room filled with a stagnant silence.

"My puppets are free now. Do you want to see them? I've added quite a few to my collection since you left." Sasori was remarkably calm considering the angry tornado of hatred that spun within his resurrected body. "Ingrate!"

"You were useless after I've gotten what I wanted. Was that so bad?" Orochimaru had only left Akatsuki. It wasn't as if he had done anything particularly bad to Sasori, but the unspoken words were stronger than anything they might have to say to each other.

The main problem was that Orochimaru had left. He had come to Akatsuki looking for power, for more jutsu, for knowledge to further his research into kinjutsu. With Sasori's help, Orochimaru had created and perfected Edo Tensei. In fact, Edo Tensei was based off of one of Sasori's original techniques.

Orochimaru had seen Sasori controlling fighters who had died but still retained the abilities they had while alive. It was called hitokugutsu, and the pale man was interested in the technique. The Sannin had wanted to do that too.

Sasori had refused to teach that technique to him. It was annoying for someone who wanted to learn every jutsu that existed. So, he had to create his own, his spin off of that ability, so that it was like he knew it, because there couldn't be a technique that he didn't know. Knowing a technique that was similar was the only way to ease his annoyed mind. And as long as it wasn't really hitokugutsu, Sasori didn't care.

"If I had known you were going to leave, I would have killed you then," Sasori said as Orochimaru smashed a puppet sneaking up for a surprise attack. But it was only a weak puppet. Sasori didn't even flinch.

The battle began as the last of that smashed puppet landed on the ground. A hundred puppets appeared around Sasori as a hundred caskets holding a hundred summoned dead rose from the ground behind Orochimaru. Within another moment, the two armies were flying at each other.

Sakura watched, her body kneeling shakily nearby as ash flew through the air to reform broken bodies, and wood limbs flew to their proper places on the puppets. She had never seen anything like it before.

She hadn't known that Orochimaru had this many undead soldiers.

The puppetmaster and the Sannin still stared at each other in the fray. Their eyes were locked as Sasori sent his puppets through the bodies of ash and dirt. Even as they both watched their soldiers fight from the corners of their eyes, their gazes refused to break.

And at the last moment, as Sasori leapt towards Orochimaru, his puppets ramming through every summoned soldier that Orochimaru sent at him, Sakura had to marvel at the precision of his attacks. _'Did I really beat THAT?'_ The defence was impenetrable. His puppets didn't miss a single attack from Orochimaru even though his eyes were fixed on the Sannin. His shoulder blades flew forwards to gouge at any undead opponents who dared come close.

She could see why Sasori was stronger than Orochimaru, why Orochimaru was the weakest of the ten members of Akatsuki. Killing the Sannin should be no problem for him.

"Sasori-kun, you can't expect to defeat a Sannin," Orochimaru said as he caught one of Sasori's arms; the fist aimed for his face stopped.

The puppetmaster lodged his foot against the pale man's chest, tearing his hand and himself away. He knew about Orochimaru's love of battle dialogue, but Sasori didn't like talk. He grabbed the Sannin with his chakra strings and swung himself around to slice through the pale man with one of his wing-like shoulder blades.

But it was a kawarimi.

Sasori frowned at the reforming summoning. The Sannin had known that if he had used one of Sasori's puppets as a replacement, the puppetmaster would have known about it. However his summoned soldiers would just reform themselves. That was unfortunate.

'_Senei Ta Jashu!'_

Sasori felt over a dozen snakes wrap around his torso, pull him backwards. The puppetmaster winced as the snakes bit down on his arms. It had been a long time since he was in living flesh. He had forgotten about living, human pain.

"Twisted, isn't it? You don't even know if you're dead or alive!" Orochimaru laughed from his side of the room.

And it was true. As the Sannin smashed the Suna-nin to the ground, he wondered. His body. His human body or his puppet body? What did he have? What was no longer there?

'_Kuso. I didn't even think–'_ He hadn't even thought that his body might not be the same one he had been using for the last few decades!

"Wh-what do you mean? He's dead," Sakura said shakily as she wobbled straighter only to have pain press her down again. She wished she could have done this. This was her battle. She should be the one to kill Orochimaru!

"Actually, I was sealed, not dead," Sasori said as his shoulder's blades ripped through the snake bodies coiled around him. Thick dark blood drenched his lower body before he leapt onto his feet again.

He felt around his chest. The cylinder was gone. He felt around his stomach. The stomach cable was gone. In fact, he had a real, human torso. He felt around his back. The apparatus holding his extra scrolls was gone.

"You sort of killed me when you summoned my soul into his new body. Thanks for that, by the way, Sakura," he said bitterly. He could have killed Orochimaru easily before, when he still had his puppet body, but now, he wasn't so sure.

"What? You want to be sealed forever?" Sakura glared at him. She couldn't even move, and he was making fun of her. She was using too much chakra. It would take at least a few more moments before she could move freely again. "Just kill him and stop complaining!" She was already giving him Orochimaru. What else did he want!

"No, but I would appreciate you using some of that strong will to suppress the cursed seal." Sasori wasn't blind, although he wasn't too sure about this girl. He had thought she was smarter when he first met her. She hadn't been trying at all!

Sakura stared at the Suna-nin, her mind running in circles around what he had said. _'Is he insulting me? What does he mean; I haven't been suppressing the cursed seal! Of course I haven't been suppressing it! I'm not Sasuke!'_ And she felt her mind switch onto the truth. She wasn't using her _strong_ will. She wasn't trying hard enough.

Sakura pulled herself from the ground, her entire body still blistering from pain as blue and purple chakra swirled around her. Sasori was right. She wasn't using her will. "Sasori, step aside," she said as she walked forwards. She was going to kill Orochimaru, like she wanted.

Sasori only stared at her with an annoyed expression. He couldn't fight against his master's orders; his body was frozen where he stood. He should have known that she was going to take it back. "I still want him for hitokugutsu," he said as the girl stormed past him. "Don't destroy his body too badly."

But Sakura hadn't heard. "Orochimaru!" Sakura shouted as she rammed her fist through his chest. The sound of mashing bone and organs filled the entire room as the Sannin flew through several Edo Tensei summonings, a couple of puppets, then crashed into the wall.

But the Sannin was glaring at Sakura, grinning at her through bloodstained teeth.

The summoned dead headed toward Sakura. With speed and strength augmented by the seal's chakra, the girl smashed through them, her body headed unstoppably toward the Sannin. The sound of exploding ash and dirt vibrated through the air as each summoned minion met the kunoichi's gloved fist. They crashed into every corner of the room, sending a grey fog hanging in the air, until they all fell to the ground in a pile of ash.

"Die!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Orochimaru, her eyes blazing with the anger of memory as she held him in her hands. He couldn't be a kawarimi. There was nothing to take his place. "Yarou!" But as her hands came together to crush his head, she felt nothing. There was no implosion, no impact.

'_Nan Kaizo!'_

"Nani?" Sakura's eyes widened as Orochimaru's arms and legs stretched, wrapping around her like many snakes. She had forgotten about this technique, this annoying technique that he had used back in the Forest of Death that day she met him. "Sas–" She pulled at the arm wrapped around her neck.

'_Sasori!' _ And she was surprised. She had called for Sasori, not Sasuke. Why? Why had she done that!

But the Suna-nin had already run forwards, cutting through the reformed summoned soldiers that tried to keep him away. He had waited for her to call him. Until she did, he was stuck where he was, under the control of a master who was too stupid to see that it was a trick.

With a deft kunai, he sliced through Orochimaru's limbs. The man's face was turned away, busy watching Sakura slowly suffocate. He didn't even see it coming.

"Kuso! Sasori-kun, you traitor!"

Then, Sasori forced a kunai in Orochimaru's throat.

Sakura coughed spasmodically, her whole body shaking as she stuffed air back into her lungs. And when she looked up, Orochimaru lay dead at Sasori's feet.

**K**abuto leapt back as Sasuke flew at him again. The Uchiha was obviously dead, and had been summoned from the afterlife, but that didn't make him any easier to fight. His Chakra no Mesu weren't having any effect. It was only because of his advanced healing abilities that he was able to survive at all.

The spectacled-nin held up his arms to shield his face from another katon as Sasuke's legs impaled him across the room. The wall smacked against Kabuto's back before he pushed himself out of the way of another attack. His arms were damaged. It was going to take another few seconds before he could use a technique.

But Sasuke wasn't going to wait for Kabuto. The dark-haired shinobi launched himself at the grey-haired man, his hand held out with a kunai shining in the dim light. Then, ash surrounded them.

At the opportunity which presented itself, Kabuto's hand shot out and caught the seal-marked arm before it could reach him. He wrenched the kunai from the mindless body before looking around. There was silence, complete silence where there was the sound of battle only a moment before.

'_Orochimaru-sama!'_ Kabuto's black eyes caught onto the Sannin slumped on the ground. Orochimaru was dead.

To anyone other than a medic-nin, it might seem like Orochimaru had fallen for a moment, like he would rise again and dispose of Sasori. But Kabuto _was_ a medic-nin. And he could see that Orochimaru was definitely dead.

Kabuto thought that he would be happy, or relieved that the Sannin was dead. But there was only horrified anger. With a single sweep of his arm, he slashed through the Sasuke summoning, rending him in half. The spectacled-nin ran through the severed body to Sasori. His former master had weak points. He knew that his former master had weak points. All he had to do was hit them with his Chakra no Mesu.

But the smile on Sasori's face...

Kabuto turned around to see Sasuke appear, a kunai aimed for his head. The Oto-nin fell back, the kunai scraping against his glasses. He raised his hand, ready for a counterattack. But Sasuke was gone.

The air caught in the spectacled man's throat, his mouth opening to gulp in air, but his chest refused to rise. He turned slowly to see the emotionless black eyes of his opponent, and the bent arm which held an embedded kunai in his back.

'_Kuso!'_ Kabuto leapt away, his back distinctly registering the weapon stuck there. With a single motion, the shinobi painfully plucked the kunai out. He had used a lot of chakra healing himself from Sasuke's attacks. He couldn't keep it up. The wound in his back was already refusing to close. _'Chikusho!'_ Kabuto ran forwards. This was his last attack. He refused to die without trying. If he died, he would die fighting...for Orochimaru-sama!

"Baka." Sasori frowned as he sent a puppet crashing into the spectacled-nin's body. When it passed, Kabuto's severed head rolled to the ground.

"Did you have to kill him like that?" Sakura said, turning away at the sight of spreading blood. She didn't like Kabuto. She hated him. But she still didn't want to see such a horrible death. To die for a dead man...

Her eyes caught on the Sasuke summoning who stood motionless, his task accomplished.

...she could understand a little of what Kabuto must have felt.

"You feel bad for him?" Sasori couldn't believe what he was hearing, what he was seeing. It actually looked like Sakura felt bad for him, for a man who had hated her since the day he saw her, for a man who had tried to kill her. "Just like a woman to–"

"Sakura!"

The kunoichi turned, the puppetmaster's eyes already fixed on the apparition at the door. Grey hair and masked face turned to them from the hall. At his side, three chuunin stood. "K-Kakashi-sensei!" And the world lightened by their victory, suddenly darkened again.

**End Chapter 10**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

It has been a long time since I brought up a useful tip for the proofreaders out there, so here's an important one. This is not just for betas. It's also important for writers to make sure they're writing emotions correctly. I know that emotions can be hard, so here's a good way to see if it's done the way you want it. Proofread in absolute silence. And I mean _absolute_ silence. There cannot be noise. It's part of the answer to the question that plagues everyone's mind: why do authors have such strange schedules? That's because absolute silence can only be attained when no one is around. That means that the best time is in the middle of the night with really huge libraries being the second choice. Why absolute silence? The answer is simple. There are no distractions. When you're writing, use whatever you want as a muse. I listen to music because there's a rhythm to which I can type, but when I proofread, there cannot be sound. Music can influence what you feel and what you think. That can interfere with what the story is trying to say. A sad story isn't as sad if you're listening to fiesta music. You can't be sure if your writing is conveying the emotion correctly. The same goes for people talking or even the sound of traffic. To make sure that the story makes sense and to make sure that the grammar is correct, etc, it's important to devote your full attention to the story. That's all. It might sound crazy, but for people who get distracted easily and find it hard to proofread their work, this might help, as long as your parents don't yell at you for staying up all night.

Side note: The other part of the answer to why authors stay up all night is because it's easier to write at night. Your brain is more in tuned with your language centres. It's a psychology thing, and if you want me to explain it further I can do it in a PM (private message) because it'll be too long, and as a warning, it will have a lot of psychology in it so don't say that I didn't warn you. But, I can finish entire stories—that's with an average of 40 000 words per story, not including all the babbling, warnings or disclaimers!—in two nights if I sleep during the day. Now that is amazing! Just don't try it when you have exams. I do it only during the summer and weekends when my brain feels as if it's going to explode if I don't write it all down.

Fire's babbling:

Sasuke: Another chapter, another _long_ English tidbit. Try to keep it down, Fire!

Fire: (sweats) Um…it wasn't that long, was it?

Sasuke: Yes, it was!

Fire: Hey…it's my story. I can do what I want!

Sasuke: It's half mine!

Kakashi: Why don't I own anything?

Fire: Baka!

Kakashi: (slumps) Are you talking to me?

Fire: I'm yelling at Sasuke.

Sasuke: Hey! I'm not a baka!

Fire: You're a brainless puppet.

Kakashi: Can I take Sakura home now?

Fire: Not yet. (turns to the audience) Review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know that the fight scene was a little strange but think about it. Orochimaru and Sasori used to be partners. That means that they know each other's fighting styles and what they're most likely to do. So in order to be effective against their opponent in a fight, they would have to think of ways to counter their main techniques. Orochimaru and Sasori have similar fighting styles. Orochimaru likes mid to long range fights. That's what he excels at since he prefers to use ninjutsu and kinjutsu techniques from afar. Whenever his enemies get close to him, he always gets hit! Ask me and I'll reference those for you.

Sasuke: (annoyed) Just get on with it! I want to leave!

Fire: Waah! Sasori first!

Sasori: I also excel at long to mid range attacks since I'm a puppeteer, but I have an advantage over Orochimaru. I also have my shoulder blades, which harms opponents who get too close. That's a short range technique that Orochimaru doesn't have. So, in order to defeat Orochimaru, I have to get close enough to use short range techniques since that is when the Sannin is at a disadvantage.

Fire: I was going to say that!

Sasori: Orochimaru has some use of taijutsu, but when it comes to that, I also excel at it. That means at in close quarter combat, I will win most of the time.

Fire: Enough explaining! I think we're confusing the readers!

Sasuke: Just tell them to review and we can go.

Kakashi: Review please so that Fire will finish the story.

Fire: I'm going to finish the story regardless!

Kakashi: Review please so that Fire will finish proofreading the next few chapters.

Fire: I'm just busy with other stories! Stop making it sound so dire!

Kakashi: Review so that Fire will stop yelling at me.

Fire: Well, ja ne! We'll see you next chapter!

Sasuke: You didn't ask them to review!

Fire: Kakashi did that enough.

Sasori: Call and tell me if you want to be a part of my collection. I'm currently—

Sakura: (smacks Sasori in the head) No one's that crazy!

Sasori: (holds his head) It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Sasuke: (closes the window) …

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	12. Eleven: Inadequacies of the Sakura

Fire: This is Wait for Me: Following, chapter 11. Yay!

Sasuke: I'm finally back.

Fire: (sarcastic) Yeah, we're all happy to see that.

Sasuke: Yes, it's great!

Fire: Teme.

Sasuke: I'll pretend I didn't hear that.

Fire: Now, where's Kakashi with my Bag of Reviews?

Kakashi: (dragging the extremely heavy Bag of Reviews) I'm… (sweats) …here!

Fire: If you give me a review, then it won't be as heavy. (holds out a hand)

Kakashi: (stares at the hand before handing a review to Fire) Yeah, that helped.

Sasuke: Sarcasm from Kakashi?

Kakashi: It didn't help. (slumps to the ground) The bag's still heavy!

Fire: Well…time for some short comments.

Naruto: When am I going to come back!

Fire: End of short comments. Thanks to all those who reviewed. For those of you who think my babbling is too long, I've already received those comments and I'm trying to shorten them, but my cowriters complain a lot.

Sasuke: Give us some interesting flames, te—

Fire: (muffles Sasuke) Don't swear at the readers. (pulls up chapter 11)

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Warning: Nonreaction is not a real word. It has been created by Fire to express the absence of a reaction. That means that it belongs to me. Yes, I do tend to make up a lot of words. Sorry for the strangeness. And as always, don't steal my words without asking for permission first. I don't mind you using it, but I want to send you a full definition and all derived words before use. Words I create are not in the dictionary.

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**Chapter 11: Inadequacies of the Sakura**

**I**n the dimly lit area with the candles flickering pale orange light across rows of columns, in the area where Fuuma Arashi had died, Sakura stared out at her former sensei. Her breath caught in her chest as her first thoughts revealed themselves to her. Hide. Hide behind Sasori. Hide behind Sasuke. Hide Sasuke!

Sakura leapt back, a barrage of kunai flying from her hands. They landed on the wall to either side of the intruders, explosive pouches hanging from each kunai. And as each pouch exploded, the walls collapsed, sealing the entrance from the shinobi who had shouted her name.

"Weren't those your friends?" Sasori looked at the kunoichi. The easygoing girl that he had known for the past day and a half was gone. There was only the pained stern look of determination now. "You could have killed them." He didn't really care, but it was something he wanted to point out. "Why didn't you kill them?" He would have killed them instead of letting them go.

"Let's go." Sakura ignored Sasori's remark and turned to the other door at the far side of the room. With that opening closed, there was only one exit left.

But, an explosion behind her drew her attention. Sakura turned around to see Lee jump into the room, landing in front of her. His black hair flew back from the force of the blast, but it was obviously his kick that had opened the way for them. "Sakura-san! Chotto matte kudasai!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. _'Stop them!'_ She didn't want to see them. The cursed seal had spread throughout her body, ash covered her clothes and blood stained her hands. She _really _didn't want to see them right now. She was too tainted. She never wanted to see any of them again!

This monster that they saw before them only looked like Sakura. She wasn't Sakura. And she would never be Sakura again. She just wanted to finish her vengeance alone, and die alone. She never wanted them to know about it, to know about this ugly thing that she had become.

But the summoned minion refused to move. "Get him away!" Sakura yelled. Spoken commands held more force than thoughts, but Sasuke still refused to move. "Sa–" Her eyes trailed along the ground before she saw the shadow attached to the Uchiha, and to herself. _'Shannaro!'_

"Ah..." the brunette chuunin sighed from where he stood, his hands held in the seal of the rat. "Mendokuse, na? I didn't think she'd put up such a fight." He had half thought she would say yes and just come.

"Oi! Sakura! If you back down, we won't use force!" Ino shouted from her side of the room. She didn't want to get too close to Sakura. That redheaded man at her side looked really strong, and Shikamaru didn't have any shadow left to stretch to him.

"Force?" Sakura couldn't believe what she had heard. Ino...had said force? "Don't talk to me about force, Ino-buta!"

As if on cue, Sasori leapt forwards, pinning the blond girl to the wall, a kunai against her throat. "I suggest you release Sakura if you want your teammate to live," Sasori said, his eyes glancing quickly to the chuunin before turning back to his hostage. He didn't care what was going on between these people and Sakura, but he didn't want to be drawn into another fight so soon. It might have been fast, but Orochimaru wasn't an easy opponent, and he was already exhausted from his earlier fight. In this condition, he wouldn't be able to hold them all off.

'_Konoha Senpuu!'_

Sasori felt his body fly across the room to crash against a column, sending fire falling to the ground in wax-filled rain. He looked back at the green clad chuunin who had kicked him. This was proving to be more difficult than he had thought. "Such impulsiveness..." Sasori said as he wiped the blood from his mouth. He was on his feet again within seconds. _'I should have used a puppet instead.'_

"A-Akasuna no Sasori!" It had taken Kakashi a moment to realize whom the redhead was. As soon as the walls fell, his eyes were drawn immediately to Sakura, but the red hair was too obvious to ignore. His mind had searched through twenty years of memory to the picture that still resided within the Bingo Book. It was Akasuna no Sasori.

Then, his eye caught onto the headless corpse of Kabuto, and the body of the Sannin. And that eye widened as his mind pulled itself from the shock of seeing someone supposedly dead standing next to his student long enough to tell him what he was seeing. Orochimaru was dead.

**S**akura stared at her former sensei staring back at her. Her skin burned under his gaze, the cursed seal refusing to let go of its control. It screamed out for attention, and the kunoichi couldn't help but think that it was getting it. Kakashi-sensei could see it. Even with only one eye, he could see it.

She was a monster.

The pink-haired girl curled into herself, her body folding against the eyes of the intruders. "Onegai," she said, her seal marked body sliding to the ground, the shadows broken by the fire of falling candles. _'Don't look at me.'_ She really didn't want to see them. "Just leave me alone." She really didn't want to deal with them. _'Just go away and let me...'_ She just wanted vengeance. Without Sasuke, vengeance was enough. "Sasori..."

But Sasori had already run forwards, her thoughts taking hold of his body even before she could say the words. He could recognize the grey-haired man standing at the entrance even if it had taken awhile to get his body there. This was Hatake Kakashi. His father, Hatake Sakumo, was the one who had killed his father.

He was going to enjoy this.

'_Kuso!'_ Kakashi backed up a step, his arms raising two kunai to block the shoulder blades that tried to sever his arms from his body. He looked into the crazed eyes of the puppetmaster before pushing him forcefully away. Sasori leapt back, his body flying through the air in a single arch before a puppet sprang out of a summoning scroll toward Kakashi.

Vengeance. The thoughts of vengeance spilled from Sakura's mind into his own. He wanted vengeance too. He wanted to kill this man. He wanted to wipe the Hatake name from the world and know that his parents had been avenged...that _he_ had been avenged.

With one sweep of his hand, another scroll unfurled, sending a mass of parchment flying across the room. Black ink faded as puppets rose, surrounded the masked man.

For a moment, Kakashi's mind blanked. It had been a long time since he had fought kugutsu. He had seen puppets in recent years–on the backs of genin and chuunin coming from Suna for the chuunin exams, or for official missions, and on the training grounds when they wanted some friendly practice that was hardly friendly–but he had never fought them. For puppets to be attacking him, that was an experience that he could barely remember.

Kakashi jumped out of the way of a poison tipped serrated saw. It seemed as if he would have to use the sharingan after all. _'He IS an S-ranked criminal,'_ he reminded himself. Why wouldn't he have to use the sharingan?

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate from his forehead, his eyes fixed on the puppets around him. At least he could predict their movement a little. He wouldn't have to worry too much about their attacks. What he needed to focus on was Sasori.

Sasori was preparing for a complicated attack. The redhead watched his prey watch his puppets, unsure of where the next attack would come from, but...

'_Kuso!'_ The Suna-nin turned back to look at the pink-haired girl. She was pulling on his mind. She didn't want him to kill the man. _'She wants them to go away, but she doesn't want me to kill them. Kuso gaki!'_ He was going to kill him slowly, but it didn't seem as if he was going to get a chance to do that now. With a final sweep of his hands, he pulled the puppets aside, rendering a punch across the jounin's face. At least, he could still beat the Konoha-nin, even if he wasn't allowed to kill him.

Kakashi slid back as the puppet's fist slammed against his face, his eyes catching onto the sight of Lee running toward him. Or rather, he was running toward Sakura. The puppetmaster had a puppetmaster, and it was Sakura. If they could stop her, they wouldn't have any trouble getting her home.

'_Kuso!'_ The masked jounin shook his head, clearing it of the stupid thought. It made no sense. If Sakura wasn't fighting them, they wouldn't _have_ to stop her. If she wasn't fighting them, they wouldn't be trying to bring her home in the first place.

Why was she fighting them!

"Sakura-san, you must come back with us!" Lee stopped his approach a little away from the kunoichi and backed into his basic stance. "Even if I must fight you, we cannot let you..." He looked around at the dark room. There were many things that they couldn't let her do. They couldn't let her stay. They couldn't let her keep killing people. They couldn't let her lose herself in the anger and misery of losing her teammates. "Sakura-san!"

Sakura stared at the green clad chuunin. For a moment, she thought that she was going to make a clean getaway. It didn't matter that Sasori would have stayed within the confines of this cage, this underground place. She was almost at the door. But, Lee was actually trying to stop her. "Souka."

Sakura's quiet reply to Lee's determined words vanished in a shower of shuriken. But Lee was too fast to allow shuriken to stop him. He had no intention of killing Sakura, or hurting her, but he wasn't going to allow her to hurt him either.

If she killed him, who would be left to stop her? Ino was occupied with Sasuke, wondering what was wrong with him, obviously not seeing that he was dead. Shikamaru was keeping Sasuke from moving so that Sasuke wouldn't immediately kill Ino. And Kakashi-sensei was occupied with Sasori. There was no one left.

The kunoichi ran forwards, her legs moving with chakra-filled speed. With her superhuman strength, she smashed dents in the walls, the floor, the air around Lee as her efforts missed him. His signature speed made her movements crawl in comparison. "Sakura-san!" Lee dodged a strike to his left. "Yoshite kudasai!" A close attempt from his right. "We are not your enemy!"

But Sakura wasn't listening. Her mind was clouded with intent. She intended that they shouldn't have to bear the burden of her sorrows and her hatred. Her vengeance was her own. She wouldn't share that with anyone. Even if she had to hurt them, it was all for the best.

'_Konoha Reppuu!'_

Sakura leapt into the air, dodging the sweep of Lee's leg. She just wanted them to go away. _'Why won't they go away!'_ Her mind screamed as her fist blurred forwards, smashing into Lee's body, sending him crashing to the ground. He wasn't trying to hurt her, even if his words said otherwise. It wasn't difficult to hit him.

But as the girl landed at the green clad chuunin's side, ready to run, her entire body froze. Within Sakura's mind, she called out to freedom. But it wasn't working. Her body wasn't listening.

'_Kanashibari no Jutsu!'_

Kakashi was filled with apprehension as he held his hands in that seal. His plan hadn't gone as he had planned. Orochimaru and Kabuto were already dead. He hadn't expected it, but the mission had gone better than he had thought. Even if Ino hadn't coaxed the pink-haired kunoichi home, and Shikamaru hadn't held her down with the force of his family's technique, they had still managed to retrieve Sakura, although it had come down to force.

Sakura's eyes swept around the room, searching for someone to help her. Sasori...he was occupied with Shikamaru, his entire body frozen as surely as kanashibari froze her body. Sasuke...Ino had always wanted to get into his head. It was ironic how literal that was. Lee wasn't going to help her, and even if he would, his body was still in shock.

The girl turned her nervous eyes to her weary sensei, her eyes widening with dread as he grabbed her. "K-Kakashi-sensei..." and she couldn't think of anything else to say. Her hands were covered with the ashes and blood of dozens dead, the dead littering the halls, the dead piled around her room within this compound, and she didn't want to tell him about it. All she knew was that she didn't want to tell him what she had done.

"Sakura, we're not here to judge you," Kakashi said, miraculously finding the words in his mouth. "But..." he ran a hand over the black rip-like pattern on the pink-haired kunoichi's skin, his face frowning sadly.

There were many things he wanted to say. They couldn't allow the cursed seal to eat her. They couldn't allow her to suffer alone. They couldn't let her continue on this path to self-destruction. They couldn't let her die alone, covered in the blood of innocent men as well as in the blood of the guilty.

But he didn't say anything. The words that had flown to his mouth had sudden vanished.

"Sakura," Shikamaru sighed through the silence, his hands still held in the sign of the rat as he held Sasori in place. "I would appreciate it if you'd call off your undead minion. We'd _all_ like to return home alive."

But there was no need for it. Sasori had already felt the wavering of the kunoichi's will, and Sasuke had vanished.

**K**akashi was a little shaky as he looked down at his student, his hands trembling as he wrote the marks on her skin. The last ones went around the cursed seal on her body, the characters connected to the ones on the ground.

Her arms lay across her chest, her body curled in on itself as she waited through the string of twenty seals forming from Kakashi's hands. Sakura had agreed to seal away the power of the cursed seal, but he still felt that she had another objective in mind. It was too easy.

'_Fuuja Houin!'_

The hand Kakashi held on Sakura's shoulder glowed bright blue, and although the grey-haired jounin knew that she must be in intense pain, she refused to scream like Sasuke had done; instead, she bit the inside of her lip and allowed the taste of blood to keep her sane. The characters rose from the ground, travelled along the lines on her back, across her chest and arms to the ring around the seal on her shoulder. The Gaia seal glowed in rebellion before dying.

It was done. Kakashi should have released an air of relief at that–the nightmare was over; Sakura was going to come home–but he didn't. He couldn't help but feel as if he was missing something important. It was definitely too easy. Sakura's agreeing to come home was just too easy.

_The pink-haired kunoichi's breaths sounded loudly from where she sat. Her body had slumped heavily to the ground as soon as Kakashi had released her from his kanashibari. But that wasn't what concerned him. The cursed seal had spread all across her body, and it still wasn't relenting. She wasn't even fighting it anymore!_

"_You'd better seal it, Kakashi-sensei," Shikamaru said as he pulled Lee's battered body out with Ino. It took another moment before Sasori left with Orochimaru's corpse in his hands, the signal coming belatedly from Sakura. He still had every intention of making Orochimaru into a hitokugutsu. It shouldn't take that much longer than Fuuja Houin._

"_I'm not sure if it's better to leave with this crazy man," Ino said as she eyed Sasori's crazed face, and shivered. Sakura falling deeper into darkness, or watching someone skin Orochimaru's corpse. That wasn't what she was thinking of when she agreed to come on this mission._

_But that was what was happening. Ino was just glad that Sakura was coming home with them._

"_As long as I do it within the next five minutes, he should still make a fine hitokugutsu," Sasori said absentmindedly, not even realizing that Sakura was about to go through a painful process._

_And the jounin was relieved when they were alone. The sealing of something like a cursed seal wasn't pretty, but he hadn't wanted to ask them to leave._

"_Sakura," he said softly as he looked at the seal. The marks were pulsing with chakra. "Sakura, I'm going to seal the cursed seal, but–"_

"_I know." Her flat words were dead and emotionless, as if she didn't care. It was the first time that Kakashi had heard such a tone from the girl. Usually, her voice was so lively, even when she was in pain. "Your Fuuja Houin technique, ne?" She turned to him, her eyes suddenly cold in a never-ending glare. "Well, I refuse! I won't let you seal this power away! I can't let you do that, Kakashi-sensei!" She still needed it. She wasn't finished with it yet!_

"_Sakura, listen to me." Somehow, his voice was calmer than he thought it would be. At least she was only yelling at him. She wasn't–_

_The pink-haired kunoichi hit Kakashi across the face, sending him flying into the wall. He had spoken too soon. _

"_I said no!" Her voice filled the room, penetrating the thick walls into the halls beyond._

_Kakashi pulled himself out of the small crater surrounding his body. "You will die. The seal will kill you." He walked toward his student as if nothing had happened. "Is that what you want?" He doubted that the answer would be yes._

"_He's dead, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said slowly, her voice soft as she sank to the ground. "Does it make a difference if we seal it or not?"_

_And Kakashi was unsure if she was talking about Sasuke or Orochimaru._

"_Yes." The masked jounin's answer marked a sense of finality in the air. He wasn't going to waver. "The seal will still react to your chakra." It was a horrible tool that drew on the user's chakra. Even if it wasn't connected to Orochimaru, it was still connected to her. Even if she never intended to use it, it would still force her chakra out. Sakura would still be in danger. "I won't let you die."_

_The pink-haired kunoichi tried to hear what must be going through the minds of her friends outside this room. She knew they were listening. Even over the sound of Sasori's enthusiasm over his new hitokugutsu, she knew that they were listening, waiting for a reason to return and see what kind of person Sakura had become. This girl who was loving and kind was now a hideous monster, covered with the blood of dead men. Even if they sealed away the power of the cursed seal, it wouldn't make her any less of a monster. It still wouldn't wash away the blood and dirt that covered her hands._

"_Yes, of course," Sakura said slowly as she tried to remember what Konoha was like, what their minds were like. She looked up at her sensei, her aqua-green eyes focussed on the Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. If she wanted to live long enough to see the destruction of Akatsuki, she would have to seal it._

_There was no way around it. She guessed they would have to have some sense of victory this day. They had wanted to save her, not just her body or her sanity. They wanted to save Sakura. Even if she was covered in blood and dirt, even if she should hold the lives of an entire generation of dead men, women and children, they would still only see Sakura. There was no sense in denying it._

"_I'll come home," she said as Kakashi walked around her, already writing the first characters of many on the ground around her. _

"_Hmm?" Kakashi was surprised. "Nani?"_

"_There's no sense in running away." Sakura had decided. If she really wanted to destroy Akatsuki, it was going to take more than just the cursed seal of a dead Sannin wretch._

**K**onoha no Sato looked the same as it was when Sakura left. Nostalgia should have filled her body when she walked through those gates, but she wasn't relieved to be back. She didn't want to be back. The first thought that ran through her mind as she walked into Konoha was how to escape, how to get away from there. Tsunade-shishou wanted to see her. Her parents wanted to see her. The rest of the Rookie Nine wanted to see her. All her friends...all the people she had abandoned...all of them wanted to see her.

And they all asked why.

They all wanted to know why she had left. They wanted to know what she had wanted to accomplish by abandoning everything that she had valued in life. They wanted to know how she could kill all those people for the sake of two boys.

And she didn't want to answer those questions. She didn't want to see them, to hear them, to have to think of the appropriate things to say to them...when she didn't want to be there to do any of it. That was the difficult part of being back.

"Sakura?" A rustle of purple fabric at Sakura's side, and the girl was sitting. "You've been sitting here all day. Don't you want to do something else?"

"No." Sakura's hands rested flat on the counter of Ichiraku Ramen, her eyes fixed on the untouched drink in front of her, a cold smoothie although it was October. Teuchi and Ayame sent glances in her direction every once in awhile, but other than that, they didn't give the pink-haired kunoichi any trouble. "I don't." Today was Naruto's birthday.

Ichiraku Ramen was the last place she remembered sitting with everyone. Sasuke-kun, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei...all three of them, alive and together. She couldn't say that she was happy then, or even appreciative of that time, but they didn't know that they wouldn't be together like that again. That was three years ago. If she couldn't release her hold on that time, she doubted that Ino could make it fade.

Sakura appreciated Ino's will to try. The blond girl really seemed to want to cheer her up, but that wasn't going to happen. The pink-haired girl didn't want to be cheered up. She didn't want to forget them, the way they were. This was Naruto's place, the place where he pined over Sasuke, the place he came to when he was feeling sad or lonely. Sakura didn't have a place like that. She wanted to think that she could use Ichiraku for that purpose too.

"Where's Sasori?"

Ino forced a smile onto her face even though she knew that her friend wasn't looking. Sasori. Sakura has been sitting here all day, waiting for Sasori to return. The former Suna-nukenin had a lot of problems that needed immediate attention, and it wasn't as if Sakura could keep him from them. Even if she tried, she would eventually cave in. They had piled all around him as soon as he walked through the main gates. The Kazekage was waiting for him. Even Suna had heard of Sasori's resurrection by the time they returned.

"In another meeting with Kazekage-sama and Hokage-sama, I guess," Ino said as she looked around. There were one...two...three...four... _'That's a lot of guards for one girl.'_ There were four people in the ramen stand watching Sakura, all of them from the Hyuuga clan. And Ino knew that there were more hidden outside.

The Hokage had requested the Hyuuga buunke jounin especially for this task. Temporary restrictions on chakra usage within the village were placed on Sakura. It was for the safety of all the citizens of Konoha that she didn't try anything complicated. Tsunade was afraid that the cursed seal might react and put everyone in danger; she wanted Sakura to take some time to rest after her ordeal so that she could test the strength of that cursed seal, so that she could make sure that it was safe for Sakura to use her chakra. Even Sakura's medical jutsu was restricted.

And the only people who could enforce those commands were the Hyuuga. They could keep an eye on her chakra circulatory system and make sure that she wasn't using any excessive chakra, and they could stop her immediately if she tried to escape. There was nowhere to hide from the byakugan.

"Souka." Sakura remembered now. Sasori had said something like that to her. She wondered why she couldn't remember it.

"You're not acting like yourself, Sakura." Ino eyed the pink-haired girl worriedly. Lately, Sakura has been...different from what she remembered. Restless, distant, overbearing at times, and mean...this new Sakura was a completely different person from the one who had left at the end of June. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

"Sakura," Kakashi sang as he walked into the ramen stand. With the number of Hyuuga buunke members standing guard around Ichiraku, either Sakura was in there, or it was Hinata. And usually, Hinata didn't have that many people watching over her. "I was wondering how you were feeling." The masked man sat down next to the girl.

It wasn't a lie. His mind had wandered through all the same thoughts that had gone through Ino's mind, and he was worried. The girl was acting too strangely to leave alone. Even Obito thought that it was best to see what was wrong...although his dead friend didn't exactly tell him that that was what he thought.

But the pink-haired kunoichi hadn't heard a word that her sensei had said. She was just sitting, absorbed in her thoughts, in the shame she felt at imposing on them, at making them see the horrible person that she had become. Even if they could see beneath the blood and dirt that shielded her true self from view, she could still only see that blood and dirt.

"Daijoubu." Sakura had no idea what Kakashi had asked her, but she already knew what he wanted to hear. It was the same thing that everyone had wanted to hear from her. They just wanted her to say that she was happy, that she was glad to be back. But this was a prison. She wanted to leave and hunt down Akatsuki. Orochimaru was dead. Akatsuki was her only goal now. This place was too painful to stay.

"Sakura," another voice–this one weary and annoyed–from another direction, except Sakura heard this one. "Those meetings are too long. I want to kill all of them and just leave." Sasori sat down to the stares of everyone in the room, except Sakura. _'Tell me I can kill them and just leave.'_ She had expected those words from the nukenin.

"What did they say?" Her monotonous words grated against the nerves of everyone there, including Sasori. Her apathy was stifling, squeezing all of them into their seats until they couldn't move.

"Kazekage-sama wants me to return to Suna no Sato." Sasori took Sakura's drink, examined it, and then placed it down again. She hadn't touched it for several hours. It was already lukewarm. "He said I will get a swift execution if I comply."

Sakura smiled slightly, her eyes fixed on the counter. A swift execution. That sounded just like Gaara.

"Besides, I'm already dead, and he couldn't hurt me even if I wasn't dead. I could just make him into a hitokugutsu, just like his grandfather." Sasori looked at the girl, seeing the nonreaction coming from her direction. "He also said to give you his regards for Naruto's death."

Sakura's body froze at those words. Yes. Naruto _was_ dead. She had almost forgotten. Summoning Sasuke back right before her chakra was sealed wasn't difficult, and keeping him from vanishing wasn't difficult either. As long as she didn't use any other techniques, she could divert all her chakra toward him. He wouldn't vanish as long as he still had chakra. She had forgotten all about Naruto after that.

The pink-haired kunoichi took a deep breath and sighed. This place held so many memories from her genin days. She could barely bring herself to leave. Barely. Almost. Words that held no attachments. She could still pull herself up and never come back. "You're not leaving." Her words to Sasori. She refused to allow him to leave Konoha. He was _her_ servant! If she couldn't leave, he couldn't leave either.

"That's what I told them." Sasori looked beyond the pink-haired girl at the blond girl and the grey-haired jounin. "Is there something you want?" They have been staring at him since he came in.

"No," Ino said venomously as she rose from her seat. "I was just leaving!" And she stormed out of the ramen stand. All day. She had been trying to get a reaction out of Sakura _all day_, and that redheaded bastard of a shinobi managed more animation out of Sakura than she has gotten from her since their return from Otogakure.

"Ja, Ino," Sakura said with a mild wave of her hand. She didn't even turn to see her friend go. She had said her goodbyes. She had never wanted to see any of them again, not until the end of her task.

And her hands were still covered with blood. Even as she looked down at them, even as she felt the presence of Kakashi-sensei behind her, she could feel the squish of blood between her fingers.

"And you?" Sasori looked at Kakashi. He obviously wanted the Copy Ninja to leave too.

"I'm not leaving Sakura alone with you." And Kakashi obviously didn't trust Sasori.

Sasori could only smile at that reply. "Fine," he conceded. He wasn't going to argue with the man. Obviously, he wasn't going to be able to convince the masked jounin that he wasn't going to hurt her, kill her, or make her into a puppet. Yet. "Sakura, do you want to take a walk?"

Sakura stared at her drink for a little while longer before standing up. She had ordered it just to stare at it. She had wanted a distraction from the red blood jelly that covered her hands. "Sure," she said flatly as she turned to the door. "Ja ne, Kakashi-sensei." She obviously didn't want Kakashi to follow.

And the jounin didn't. It was painful for him to see her like that too. _'Sakura...'_ his mind mourned even as the kunoichi left. It took all his strength not to follow after her.

She didn't look at Kakashi, or the Hyuuga buunke members as she walked out into the street. She stared at the busy marketplace before Sasuke appeared at her side, the remnants of a Shunshin no Jutsu swirling away.

'_Oh, yeah.'_ She stared at the dark-haired boy for a moment before turning in a direction and walking. _'I forgot that he was...'_

Sakura had forgotten that Sasuke was like that now. It was one of the properties of Edo Tensei. The summonings were all mentally connected to her. It was an advantage during battles. She didn't have to consciously tell them what to do–not like a puppeteer–but it was annoying for everyday life.

Sasuke came, but only because she had wanted him to come. A walk with Sasuke. That was what she always wanted. That was what still went through her mind every time she looked out into fresh air, and every time she walked outside. _'I have to stop doing that.'_ It didn't used to be annoying, but it was annoying now. Sasuke coming at every thought. That only served to remind her that he wasn't really with her anymore. Without her chakra, he would just vanish.

And the expression on his face, the reactions from the uncaring puppet as fangirls swarmed around him was enough to make Sakura cry. She couldn't look at that. That wasn't the Sasuke that she knew.

"Then, tell him to go home." Sasori stared at the girl. She seemed to beat herself up at every command. "It was necessary. Without his techniques, Kabuto would have overwhelmed us." Without the invincible body yielded by the second step of Edo Tensei, Kabuto's regenerative skills would have completely dominated them.

But it didn't sound as if Sakura was listening. Her distant looks only yielded slight nods of her head. Sasori and Sakura had both understood what was needed to be done, but only Sasori had the will to do it. Sakura just couldn't find it within herself to destroy the sanity, the free will, and the life of the man she loved.

"Makes you wonder what Baasama would have done." Sasori made it sound as if his grandmother would have killed Sasuke too. "She–"

"–wouldn't kill him." Sakura glared at Sasori. "Chiyo-baasama wasn't you!"

"Of course, you'll never know," the redhead said, a smile creeping onto his face. The pink-haired girl was smart. She didn't need any more hints.

She already understood. In the middle of the futile shouts of fangirls all around them, Sakura's mind managed to pull the thought out. _'Chiyo-baasama...'_ The Sasuke that stood emotionless, thoughtless, in the middle of the crowd...she could make him whole again. She could really have him back. Chiyo-baasama could do it.

And Sasori already felt her mind catch onto the idea.

**S**asori knew that he was smiling. There was always a smile on his face when things happened the way he wanted it to happen, and the pink-haired kunoichi was actually accepting his guidance this time, instead of sealing him to a waking death. And she looked happy about it.

'_This is easier than I thought.'_

He had planned this. Orochimaru probably had a similar plan, and that was why he had to destroy him. He was happy about that too. He needed more hitokugutsu. The Sannin was actually a strong hitokugutsu too, although he doubted that Manda would obey him if he summoned him.

But the plan was something that he had decided to implement since that morning. He had planned it long before, but he had waited all day to put it into action. He was going to destroy her...slowly. He always had enjoyed killing people slowly. It was just a shame that he hadn't done it to Orochimaru.

"Yes, we can." Sakura's words came slowly as her mind decided to do it. She'll never know what Chiyo-baasama would have done. That was what Sasori had said. "I can..."

Sasori heard her mind lock onto the task. There was no stopping the girl once she had decided. Sakura was stubborn. "I'll prepare for it," he said as he turned away.

He had missed it, his grandmother's death. He had really wanted to see her die, but that was just a bonus. With the wavering joy that fluttered in the kunoichi's chest, he would strangle her and tear her apart as surely as time and life had peeled away the optimistic cheerfulness that once resided in her heart. She would suffer. If he had to paint her hands with the blood of a million women and children, she would suffer.

**End Chapter 11**

---------------------------

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

In the next few chapters, I'm going to be talking about English, but that's not really new. Actually, what's different is that I'm going to be talking about the three different kinds of English. And everyone out there is asking, "There are three different kinds?" Yes. There are three different kinds of English. There's formal English, informal English and colloquial English. These are three points out of five different styles for writing a story. The sixth style is not really appropriate for creative writing and I won't be discussing it. The other two points of style will be brought up in different chapters, possibly in different stories of this series since the length of this story doesn't allow for it. Today, I'm going to talk about formal English. A lot of people think that formal English needs to have a lot of big words, but that isn't true. Polysyllabic words are best used to provide variety and better flow in a sentence, but the effect of polysyllabic words won't be explained here. That will be at the end so it won't be swimming in your head when reading this. Formal English is usually dignified, precise and serious. This is the English that the Hokage might use in a meeting with the village elders. Usually formal English will avoid the use of the first person singular (I) and the second person (you), and it uses the more impersonal first person plural (we). There are a lot of other rules, but basically, formal English is the extremely structured English used for anything you might term business—for example, if you're a student or teacher, school is business; if you're a lawyer, the courtroom is business, or in front of your clients; if you're a government official, etc, not just CEO stuff—not used in everyday speech or even in normal writing of any kind, unless you write contracts, or you have a character that uses formal English. The sentence structure of formal English is relatively complex and slightly longer than normal speech, and there is a sense of impersonality, precision and seriousness to it. Unless you're writing an essay for school or for a journal to be published, it's best to avoid writing in formal English. But it's a good tool to have, especially if you're writing about a stuck-up and snobby person, a relatively dull person, a noble (like Byakuya from Bleach) or generally someone who is so well-learned and cut off from the rest of the world that they speak in strange sentences.

Now, for the polysyllabic words, if you use too many of them, the voice and tone of the story or characters become impersonal and distanced. This is especially true if you tend to write in renaissance English—the kind of English you read in fantasy novels, or something I call Post-middle English which is a little newer than Shakespearean/renaissance English but older than modern English—since the writing becomes even stranger. Use polysyllabic words only for variety and the flow of a sentence. Don't overuse them. That will make your writing incomprehensible.

Fire's babbling:

Sasuke: Didn't I hear you say that you were going to cut down on the length of your English tidbits?

Fire: (sags) I'm trying. The next ones should be shorter.

Kakashi: You're failing.

Fire: I know.

Sakura: They did WHAT to me!

Fire: (sags more) And now Sakura's yelling at me.

Sakura: Of course I'm yelling at you! Did you read the story!

Kakashi: I just wanted to bring you home, Sakura.

Sakura: Leave me alone and let me have my vengeance!

Fire: Well, enough yelling. Save that for next chapter. (turns to the audience) Tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know they're long so try to stay awake. Yes, Orochimaru is going to become a hitokugutsu.

Sasori: (smiles) I knew it.

Fire: And we're going back to Konoha.

Sasuke: And I'm still a puppet! (glares at Fire)

Fire: (cowers) Well…that won't be for long.

Sasuke: You better not kill me again!

Fire: Waah! Review! Review so that Sasuke won't kill me!

Sasuke: I'll flame you!

Fire: Kisame! (pulls Kisame in front of Sasuke) Save me with your suiton techniques!

Kisame: O.o

Sasuke: Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!

Fire: Ja ne! (dodges a fireball)

Kisame: Suiton: Baku Suishouha! (spits up a gigantic wave of water and puts out all the fire)

Sasuke: Eww! Don't spit on me!

Kisame: It's a technique, baka! (grabs Samehada)

Fire: Waah! (closes window quickly)

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	13. Twelve: Mind of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter 12 for everyone! And we are nearing the end of this story. I know that it doesn't seem like the end, but for the second book, it is. You might want to continue with _Wait for Me: Searching_, the third and last book in this series if you want to know what happens to them.

Sasuke: And I'm a puppet!

Fire: (sweats) I might have to run, so Kakashi will be taking over for now.

Sasuke: I'm a puppet! (eyes go sharingan)

Fire: (sweats profusely) Sasuke, calm down. We have people watching.

Kakashi: We might want to continue with reviews before you run. (pulls up the Big Bag of Reviews and pulls out a window) Read it while I stop Sasuke. Kanashibari no jutsu!

Sasuke: (entire body freezes) Hey!

Fire: And yes, Orochimaru is now a hitokugutsu. Find out why in this chapter. As for Sasori, he's going to stay alive until I say it's time for him to die.

Sasori: That doesn't mean anything.

Fire: He won't die in this book. Anyone who wants him to die will have to wait until the next book to see it happen.

Naruto: And what about me?

Sasuke: Yeah, what about my dobe! (glares at Fire with sharingan eyes)

Fire: Well, I'm going to run. Thanks for all your reviews. This is another long chapter, so please don't flame me if you fall asleep. (runs away from Sasuke)

Kakashi: Here's the next chapter. (pulls up chapter 12)

---------------------------

**Chapter 12: Mind of the Sakura**

**S**wirls of discontent hovered over Sasori's head as he opened the door to the Hokage office. At the end of another meeting with the Kazekage, he had received word that the woman had wanted to see him. _'Another woman,'_ he thought annoyedly. Another woman was ordering him around, but at least he didn't have to listen to the Kazekage, who was still technically a kid. Women were annoying enough, but he definitely wasn't going to listen to a kid.

His hand clutched the door handle for a moment, his mind registering the cool feel of metal against his skin. He had forgotten how most things felt. Living in a body devoid of emotions as well as the sense of touch for over thirty years had that effect.

But it wasn't as if he could ignore the summons for much longer. He would have to reacquaint himself with the sense of touch later. Sasori took a deep breath and pulled the door open. Kakashi was already inside.

No one had told him that Hatake Kakashi would be here as well.

'_Kuso!'_

"Sasori-san, I was just going over the report from Kakashi," Tsunade said as she waved the Suna-nin into the room. "I just wanted to clarify one thing." She walked up to the poisonmaster, stopping only an arm's length away.

The blond woman shivered, her eyes fixed on Sasori, examining the face of the redhead as she poked a cautious finger at his skin. He felt real, but she was still sickened nonetheless. She had heard about Orochimaru's Edo Tensei–he had spoken of it back in Tanzaku Gai–but she had never seen it before. Shivers shook through her entire body at such close proximity.

"Sakura did this?" Another deep shiver ran through the blond woman's body and she had to take a step away from the Suna-nin. "No. Don't tell me." She waved the puppetmaster who was about to speak to silence. "I don't want to know."

Kakashi stared at the woman from across the room. She had called him into her office, and had ordered him to bring Sasori so that he could explain that strange part of his report to her, and now she was telling him that she didn't want to hear it. It was strange. She couldn't be serious about doing _that_ now, could she?

"Is this about something else, Hokage-sama?"

The blond woman looked at the two men standing in her office. She could feel the tense air between them. They wanted to kill each other, but there was no way around it. These two men were the closest to Sakura since her return from Oto no Sato. She could only trust what these two men were going to say. "How is Sakura?" She could have had someone write a report. She could send ANBU, or assign it to one of the Hyuuga jounin watching over her. There were more than two dozen of them! Sakura was only in the hospital, doing some simple medical work to keep herself busy. _She_ could have gone to see the kunoichi! There were more than enough people to tell her what she wanted to know, but she could only trust what these two men said. Everything else was only speculation. Even if she went, all she would be able to see was what was in front of her.

Kakashi frowned. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't able to get close to her since their return. She had barely looked at him. There was only...

He glared at the redhead. There was only Sasori. She had only listened to Sasori. She had only talked to Sasori, had only smiled at Sasori. Was it because she could control him? Was it because he had always done what she wanted him to do?

"She has been depressed much more lately," Sasori said slowly as he looked around, ignoring the same glares he always received from the grey-haired jounin. The Hokage's office. He hadn't really spent a lot of time in here. Usually, he was in the conference room, where the Hokage brought her important guests, and since he was usually summoned to the Hokage tower during one of Kazekage-sama's visits, that was where they met. It was a nice change. He just hadn't thought that it would be so...messy. The Kazekage office was usually much, _much_ neater.

"I expected that," Tsunade said slowly, her mind lost in thought. Her eyes were still fixed on the Suna-nin, watching him look around her office even as she turned back to her desk. She had taken great care to move important documents out of sight. He could still leave and return to Akatsuki at any time. She didn't want them to know about anything truly important. "She's still dealing with the death of her teammates. It's still recent."

'_Although,'_ she reminded herself, _'Sasuke's not quite dead anymore.'_ And she managed to send another chill through her body.

"Just like a woman to be prey to their emo–" Sasori stopped as he realized that he was speaking to a woman. _'Chikusho!'_ It wasn't always easy to be himself when the woman he was talking to could smash him to pieces with one little finger.

Kakashi wished she really would smash the redhead into splinters at that moment. _'Insensitive bakayarou!'_

Tsunade's eyes were hard as she glared at Sasori, although her voice still held the same easygoing, threat filled melody she had used the entire time he was there. "I'm going to be honest, Akasuna no Sasori." Her words came slowly, as if she was still deciding whether she was going to stay them or not. "I don't like you." It was nothing compared to the relief that the redhead felt at realizing she wasn't going to hit him for his remark. "I don't trust you. In fact, I would like it a lot better if you weren't here at all, if you would return to Suna no Sato with Kazekage-sama next time he visits, but..." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her eyes closing at the thought. "...you're the only one that Sakura has really been interacting with." She hated having to rely on him, but it was the truth. She had gotten the complete explanation from Kakashi right before Sasori came into her office. Even the pink-haired kunoichi's parents knew nothing. "If you behave, I will consider allowing you to stay in this village." Tsunade paused, waiting for his answer.

But the redhead's words weren't quite what she was expecting. "You mean, act as your spy and you will _consider_ asking Kazekage-sama to let me go." Sasori was familiar with these euphemisms. Consider meant probably not. Behave meant do as I say. They always said one thing but meant something else. "You should be more straightforward, Hokage-sama. I might say no."

Tsunade's fist shook with anger, but she didn't want to kill a potential spy. It quelled after a few moments of restrained shouting. "Keep an eye on her, and I _will_ allow you to stay. I will negotiate it with Kazekage-dono."

Sasori smiled. _'That's more like it.'_ He was already keeping an eye on the girl anyway. "Then I will watch over her." It would make it much easier to do what he had in mind for her. No witnesses.

At least not any that he would worry about.

And the grin wasn't overlooked by the grey-haired man at the other side of the room. The jounin frowned at the sight. His suspicions were correct.

Tsunade had brought up the idea before, when he handed his written report to her a few minutes before Sasori's arrival; she had enough time to read over it by the time the Suna-nin came in, but she was already forming the thought a week and a half ago, when Kakashi had given his initial report. It was true that no one was able to really connect with the pink-haired kunoichi since her return from Oto no Sato. Kakashi had tried. Lee had tried. Ino had tried. Even _she_, the Hokage, her shishou, had tried! But he had expected that it would take more work than what they had already put in. It was all for nothing. Sakura would only open up to this Suna-nukenin.

He had agreed that it might be best to use that to their advantage, even if he was annoyed with the entire idea. Having Sasori keep an eye on Sakura for them...he still didn't like the idea of doing it. The man was dangerous. An S-ranked criminal, and they were going to allow him to spend time with an emotionally vulnerable girl! There was no telling what kind of evil thoughts he would put in her head. It might actually be worse than what she had already done.

But Tsunade had already suggested it, and Sasori had agreed. There was no turning back now. There was nothing that Kakashi could do to stop it.

'_Kami-sama.'_ Kakashi turned away, unable to watch the eagerness of the Suna-nin any longer. _'Please don't let him hurt Sakura.'_

**L**istening to Hokage-sama didn't take that long, but Sasori was still annoyed that she had to instruct him in so many things. He wasn't that much younger than her. He knew how to do his job.

But the turbulence in his chest had subsided by the time he walked beneath the cloth flaps of Ichiraku Ramen. Sakura was already sitting there with her usual dazed expression, daydreaming about dead Akatsuki members, a live and happy Sasuke, and a house filled with pink-haired Uchiha children. But those were the same thoughts that she always had these days.

Sasori shook his mind free of Sakura's thoughts before walking up. If he didn't do it, he might not be able to remember what he had wanted to do today. It was a nuisance to deal with her thoughts within his own mind, but he was beginning to control them. They weren't running wild, controlling his every movement like they did back in Otogakure no Sato.

"Sakura," he said as he bent down to look at the girl. For a moment, the image of a long forgotten fangirl bending over him dropped into his mind. He hadn't dwelt on fangirls since he left Suna, and he was beginning to think that he would have to worry about them again...until he realized that it was Sakura's thought.

"Do you want to..." Her words trailed off as she tried to remember if those were her words, or Sasori's words.

"I think we need some time apart." Sasori could feel fear rising in her chest, choking her, choking him. Was he Sakura, or was she Sasori? His mind could barely remember.

"You've been gone for a week. We've had enough time apart." Sakura's words were soft, as if she had been waiting a long time to say it. Her mind was still on what he had said the week before. "How was your trip?" Did you really bring it?

Sasori looked away as he grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her out of the ramen stand. The number of Hyuuga guards had diminished slightly since he left, but there were still plenty of them around. He couldn't just say that his trip was successful, that he had it. He couldn't just hold out the urn for her to see. There were two visible Hyuuga jounin standing not far away, and many hidden around them. He could feel where they were. It was difficult not to feel their locations when he had tried so hard to avoid detection from these kinds of people before.

And he was suddenly disturbed by a strong semblance of married life. However, Sakura wasn't his wife. Sakura was his master. And she never hesitated to remind him. Even though her manner was soft, even though her words held no strong command, even though her eyes were cast down like a shy girl's, he could still hear the question in her mind, pressing him.

Did you bring her?

Sasori set the girl down on a secluded bench at the Dango Shop. The scent of sweets were slowly bringing the girl back to her senses. It was good to keep her sane, even though the Hyuuga were still around to witness it. "Sakura, I'm going to hug you now," he said so that only she could hear.

"Okay." Her reply was flat and indifferent.

"Here," he said as he wrapped an arm around her, covertly handing her the urn with the other. The mark of Suna was branded across the clay body, the name Akasuna no Chiyo inscribed beneath it. There was no mistaking what it was.

'_The urn... Chiyo-baasama...'_ Sakura took the jar slowly, her heart still its same unbeating, unfeeling self. She couldn't understand why it wouldn't feel, even when she held someone so important to her in her hand. She had thought that she would feel more at that moment, but there was nothing. There was no pain. There was no sadness. There was just the depression in her heart, knowing what Sasori expected her to do.

And knowing that it would probably be Sasori who would do it.

"You're hesitating," Sasori stated, his eyes fixed on the girl's downcast eyes. The jar lay in her lap where no one could see it. And there was no reason for the Hyuuga jounin to use their byakugan. They weren't doing anything really suspicious. "I guess you don't really want–"

"I'm not hesitating." Sakura's voice was unwavering, even though she knew he could read it in her mind. Doubt was forming. It was hard, having to do this again. She really didn't want to use that evil technique again. She really didn't want to kill anyone like that again. It would only disappoint Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-shishou, Lee-san, Ino...herself.

But she had to do it. She tried to convince her mind to do it.

"Maybe tomorrow?" Sasori took the jar from the kunoichi's lap and stuck it back into his cloak. She didn't really have anywhere to put it anyway.

"Okay." Sakura was glad. She didn't have to say it. Her mind really was undecided at that moment.

"And if you need a sacrifice..." He held up a scroll and smiled as understanding crept into Sakura's mind. He had a human sacrifice in that summoning scroll.

"I don't need one now," Sakura snapped annoyedly as Sasori stuffed the scroll into his cloak once more. Her mind was still undecided, but she knew what she wanted. She knew that she didn't want to do it now. And... "Let go of me, Sasori!" ...she wanted him to stop hugging her.

**T**sunade jumped up as the door to her private study threw open. Her entire body dropped to the ground before she sat up to see who it was. It was only a short drop from the couch to the ground. "Kazekage-dono?" She was surprised. He had left for Suna no Sato only a few days ago. She hadn't expected him to be back so soon.

"Sleeping again, Hokage-dono?" Gaara looked down at the woman sitting on the ground. Even though this wasn't the Hokage's usual office, it was more comfortable to sleep here. There were couches to sleep on, and the setting was more casual. He could see why she preferred to use this room to train her apprentice.

"Yes. Yes," Tsunade said a little nervously as she stood up. Allowing someone in the tower to see her sleeping on duty was nothing, but to have a visitor from another hidden village see her napping in the middle of the day was embarrassing. "Wh-what are you–"

"I have urgent business." Gaara's cold green eyes were still indifferent. He didn't care that she was sleeping. "Akasuna no Chiyo-sama's ashes are missing."

'_Kuso.'_ Tsunade knew that it wasn't going to be good.

**S**akura knew that it was horrible of her, but she couldn't help herself. She really wanted to bring Sasuke-kun back. But she still couldn't allow herself to do it! The feel of ashes beneath her hands just wouldn't go away! She just couldn't do it calmly anymore.

'_How? How was I every able to do something like this?'_ Her hands shook with just the thought of killing someone again.

Then, her mind trailed to Sasuke-kun again. She really, _really_ wanted him back. She really wanted to be with him again.

"Make up your mind already," Sasori said, annoyed from the far corner of the kunoichi's room. If he sat any further away, he would be outside, on the balcony.

"Why won't you go away?" Sakura was annoyed. She gave him no chakra. He should have run out a long time ago and vanished. And she would never summon him again.

"I'm not an average summoning." He looked very smug. "I'm special."

"Like you're retarded?"

"That's not a nice thing to say to me, Sakura-chan."

"Urusai, kuso-Sasori." And her mind was brought to Sasuke-kun again. "Shannaro!"

"You want him back." But she doesn't want to kill anyone to do it. Sasori could clearly see the agitation between these two thoughts. They pulled her in opposing directions, their hands gripping tightly onto her limbs, unable to let go. And she could only cry out in indecision. Soon, they will tear her apart.

Sasori couldn't help but enjoy it.

"If you don't do it, you just don't want him enough." And the puppetmaster could feel a new dimension of pain in her chest.

**K**akashi knew that he shouldn't be sitting outside her window like that, but he was worried. The most recent Hyuuga report had said that... It had said that...

'_Why was Akasuna no Sasori hugging her! Chikusho!'_ It was really annoying him.

He hadn't really seen Sakura or Sasori over the last week. He was busy with little missions that the Hokage thought would get his mind off his problems. But...what problems? He didn't have problems!

The grey-haired man sighed inwardly, allowing himself to sink a little further to the secluded roof beneath his feet. He didn't know what could be giving them ideas like tha–

"Kakashi!"

The jounin spun around, his finger to his lips to silence the man who had suddenly appeared at his side. "What is it, Gai?"

"I challenge you to–!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Lee accidentally pushed his sensei aside as he landed onto the rooftop from below. "Gai-sensei, gomen nasai!" And the roof suddenly became several times louder.

Kakashi sighed. "Please be quiet. We _are_ standing outside a girl's bedroom."

Lee was immediately silent. He had forgotten that he was standing outside Sakura's bedroom window.

"Kakashi, my ETERNAL RIVAL!" Gai sprang to his feet once more. "I must challenge you–"

"That's not why we're here, Gai-sensei!" Lee cut off his sensei before he could speak again. "We have confirmation of a missing person, Kakashi-sensei!"

The masked jounin stared at the boy for a moment before turning to the window again. "Why are you telling me this?" He was confused. Someone else could handle it.

Lee stared at Kakashi with a trouble expression on his face. He didn't know how to explain it. "It just does, Kakashi-sensei!" That was the best thing he could think of to say.

"Kazekage-sama came with news from Suna that one of their strongest shinobi had vanished. There are few people in this world who can defeat someone of that status. Hokage-sama believes that it is either Sakura or Akasuna no Sasori's doing, or both." Gai was serious now, much to Kakashi's relief. "But she specifically said to keep an eye on Akasuna no Sasori," Gai added covertly, "off the record."

However, Kakashi was reluctant to believe it. "Sakura?" He wasn't going to believe that Sakura had kidnapped someone, just because the Hokage said she did. "Is there evidence to back up this accusation?" There was no reason for her to...

But Sasori. Sasori was capable of anything.

"And the ashes of Akasuna no Chiyo are missing from Suna."

'_Chikusho! They wouldn't!' _Kakashi wasn't stupid. The thought had come together with those words. Ashes. Chiyo-baasama's ashes!

Kakashi shunshin-ed away before either Gai or Lee could continue with their trains of thought. He already knew. His mind had already understood. They were trying to resurrect Akasuna no Chiyo. But he still refused to believe it. He wasn't going to believe it until he sees it with his own eyes. Sakura couldn't do something like that. She had promised she would return. She had promised to leave vengeance behind!

**T**hey hadn't gone far. Konoha no Sato was big, and there were plenty of places to hide. The canyon. The forests to the north. The shelters in the monument. The waterfalls and rivers. There was more than enough foliage to cover their trails for a thousand years.

But Sakura still didn't know why she was sitting in the middle of nowhere.

Sasori had said to take a walk, and she hadn't really thought that it would be any different from the other walks he suggested before. They usually just walked around the village. She didn't know that he would take her all the way into the forests of Konoha...then leave her alone.

'_He said he'd be back.'_ She was sure that he was up to something. The feeling that had appeared when they were still in Oto no Sato was still there, and it had only grown stronger. _'Shannaro!'_

But her thoughts returned to reality as her fingers stopped, her skin registering the soft black hair to either side of Sasuke's face. His empty eyes stared at her with none of the malice and heartlessness that she used to receive from him, and she wondered what it would be like to have him back again.

She had almost forgotten what he was like. He was gone for almost three years, left to be with Orochimaru, and he was around for only about four months before he died. She hardly had time to become attached to him again. But she still loved him.

She remembered when the fangirls swarmed around him. She would run ahead just to see him, but that was only for the sake of pride. She wanted him to say something to her, anything, anything nice or possessive. She wanted to show the other girls that she was the only girl, the one girl closest to Sasuke even if he never allowed himself to show it in public. She was his teammate. She was his friend. That was a bond that could never be broken, even in death. She knew. She always knew that he would come back to her.

She still wanted Sasuke back. She really wanted Sasuke back. She wanted the chance to see his smile, that cold smile which held only contempt, and hear his voice even if it was filled with insults. Even if it was painful, that was her strongest memory of Sasuke.

"I'm dead inside, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said slowly as she moved her hand away, allowing the hair to glide through her fingers and away from her touch. _'If I'm dead, can I be with you?' _ Even knowing that she was deader than the dead man at her side, her eyes refused to cry. She knew that the answer was no.

She looked out into the trees around her. The tall trees, thick with the passing centuries, reminded her of her days as a genin, the five days spent in the Forest of Death. Except Naruto wasn't here. And without Naruto, they were incomplete.

'_Naruto...'_ She hadn't thought about him in a long time. His ashes still sat on her desk surface, the red Uzumaki swirl smudged with neglect. She had brought it with her from Oto no Sato only because she didn't want to leave him behind. Sasuke would never forgive her if she had left him there. Even if she missed Naruto, she couldn't help hating him. She still hated him. _'Naruto...'_ But she still missed him too.

Her mind trailed off as she passed into sleep, her weary body collapsing beneath the roots of a giant tree. But even in her dreams, her memories were relentless. The red bridge above which they had met so many times before, the place where they spent the most time together, waiting for Kakashi-sensei.

The bridge. It was simply referred to as the bridge. It must have a name, but they never used it. There was no better way to describe that place. It could have easily been called the archway, or the arches, but Sakura preferred to think of it as the bridge. That was the only place that mattered. She didn't care if there were arches or not as long as the bridge was there.

And Sasuke was waiting there, his dark eyes filled with life that he just didn't have in reality. He was waiting there...for her. Not Naruto. Not a fantasy girl who was a thousand times more beautiful and a thousand times more capable than her. Not anyone else. He was just waiting for her.

But before she could get near, the Uchiha fell through the bridge into a screaming river of fire. And Sakura rose from its nightmare to look around, cold sweat matting her clothes to her body. It was dark. Sasuke was gone. And Sasori hadn't returned.

A cold shiver ran through the girl as memories of her dream returned to her mind. Thoughts of that nightmare, thoughts of Sasori, thoughts of Sasuke, thoughts of the bridge...she hadn't thought about that bridge for a long time. Why tonight?

But her mind already knew what her heart refused to believe. They were at the bridge. Sasori was at the bridge. And...

'_Shannaro!'_ She knew that he was up to something! She knew!

She needed to get to that bridge. She needed to get there before Sasori did anything she was going to regret.

**S**asori was bored. He knew that it was going to happen sooner or later. Someone who had tortured–and killed–more than a few thousand people in his lifetime was bound to grow bored of something so trivial. He just didn't think that it would happen so soon. He already had to move on with his plan. Sakura just wasn't going to do it herself.

"So, Orochimaru," Sasori said as he watched the puppet work. "You came in handy after all."

It wasn't as if he couldn't do it himself. The kinjutsu that the Sannin had invented wasn't a mystery to someone who had helped him develop it. But...

'_If I do it, I might vanish.'_

When summonings run out of chakra, they return to the spirit world until they are needed again, and even then, they needed new chakra to fill their bodies. And Sasori doubted that Sakura would want to summon him again.

The redhead's mind was occupied with that thought. He should have enough chakra to summon the old woman on his own, but he just didn't want to take the chance. Besides, he wasn't against using his former partner like this. Orochimaru was never as easy to control as he was now. He was almost surprised that the puppet obeyed him, although there was no reason for him to feel that way. It was a puppet. There was no other way for him to behave. Orochimaru was dead.

The flash of a panicked thought brought Sasori's mind back to reality. Sakura knew what he was doing. She was trying to stop him. But it was too late. The orders have already been made to his puppets.

The redhead turned, his eyes fixed on the distant figure of a pink-haired girl. Her aqua-green eyes shone out from the approaching darkness beyond to stare at the wide bridge on which the puppetmaster stood.

Sakura's feet were fixed to the ground, frozen at the sound of body hitting wood. Her eyes widened at the sight of an unmoving body on the wood bridge surface. "Ch-Chiyo-baasama..." Her words came strangled from her throat. "Chiyo-baasama!"

Sasori felt the girl grown numb as she ran forwards, her entire body falling to the side of the disintegrating woman. Ash blew from the body, the dirt crumbling to the walkway, the arm of a dead woman uncovering from its burial. For a moment, the Suna-nin thought that the pink-haired girl would cry at the sight, but there were not tears, even though there was pain in her eyes, even though there was only the pain of regret holding the ashes of a dead woman.

There was a strange sense of accomplishment growing inside Sasori's chest as he looked down at the huddled girl, a sense of satisfaction as he dropped a bound notebook to Sakura's side. It was still too soon to go on with the next part of his plan, but this book should have everything ready for then. "Here." The paper flapped in the light wind, ruffling the neat black handwriting of the Suna-nin. "This is what you wanted, ne, Sakura-chan?"

"Just die, Sasori."

Sakura's hands grasped the grey powder threatening to melt into the wind, smearing it into the jar with the Suna crest. Ashes were never meant to be strewn around like useless cinders from a fireplace. _'I promised. I promised I wouldn't do something like this anymore.'_ Her thoughts couldn't help repeating itself as her fingers tried their best to get the remains of a cherished person out of the grained wood beneath her knees. She had promised. She remembered making that promise.

_They were resting at Otakame Sato not too far from Konoha. They had travelled almost nonstop from Otogakure no Sato, and they were exhausted. But that wasn't why they had stopped. They were so close to Konoha that it wouldn't have mattered if they were exhausted. _

_There was another festival in this city. They couldn't say no to Ino when she whined about going so badly. It wasn't as if it was a rare festival–Otakame Sato had festivals monthly–but there was no stopping Ino once her mind was made up._

_Only Kakashi, Sakura and Shikamaru were left in the room. Everyone else–including Sasori who was on a tight enough leash with Sakura delving into his mind every few minutes–had gone out to see the sights. And Shikamaru was asleep._

_Kakashi had worried that Sakura was planning something. Since they had left Oto, he had felt that she was keeping something from him. She had agreed to go with him too easily. It couldn't possibly be this easy. That was why he had to talk to her. He had to know if she had something else hidden beneath that wide forehead._

"_Sakura," he said cautiously, not sure how to begin. It wasn't a usual topic for a sensei to say to his student. _

"_The weather's really nice today, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said calmly, her eyes fixed on the world beyond the glass windows of their temporary room. "If Ino hadn't wanted to see the festival, it would have been a good day to travel."_

_And Kakashi could only feel that she was avoiding his words. "Sakura, I–"_

"_You're worried about me, Kakashi-sensei?" Her voice released the weighted air pressing down on them. "I said I'll come home."_

_For a moment, there was only the sunlight streaming in from the window and the muffled sounds of the street vendors and the passing crowd below. Sakura couldn't understand what must be going through her sensei's mind._

"_I promise I won't do anything to make you regret it."_

That included this! That included what Sasori did...because she was supposed to be his master. She was supposed to control him.

"I never want to see you again!" Sakura screamed at the redhead, her chest tightening with anger.

And Sasori vanished. She never wanted to see him again, and he knew it. He felt it. He read it clearly in her mind. And he had no problem with it. As long as she didn't see him, it was okay to be around her. As long as she didn't see him, she wouldn't know that he was around to watch her suffer. The next part of his plan didn't really need his input anyway. All that was needed was for her to read that book.

Sakura's mind was filled with uncertainty. For the last week, she had switched from one state of mind to the other. Should she bring Chiyo-baasama back? Should she not bring Chiyo-baasama back? Was it worth it to bring Sasuke-kun back? Was it the right thing to do? She was thinking about it over and over again, the repetition of the words filling their two minds.

Now, there were new words filling her mind. New words repeated themselves, and this time, she wouldn't be able to stop them.

**O**nly one place came to mind when Kakashi realized what Sakura might do. It was the same place that he had fond memories of, the same place that was still clear in his mind whenever he thought about Team Seven, even though it had been over three years since they were all last there together. The bridge. Where else could she be?

But as he came to the familiar bridge, his body detached from himself and fell back at the sight. As he approached, the pink-haired girl dropped to the ground, her face buried in her hands. He thought he would hear her sob. Her body was at the edge of breaking under the pressure of emotions that swirled around her. But there were no tears. There were no signs of the inner whirlwind threatening to tear her apart.

'_Chikusho!'_ He didn't need the sharingan to see Sasuke watching her. _'Sakura!'_ The grey-haired man ran forwards, his uncovered eye wide with worry. He couldn't bring himself to do anything else. If he had allowed himself to shunshin there, to take his eye off her, she would be gone. If he had allowed his eye to blink, she would disappear.

The girl's name caught in the jounin's throat as he neared. He couldn't say her name...because he didn't know how to say it. He didn't know what to say to her. The missing shinobi from Suna that he had thought to find alive–who was alive not long ago–lay half-uncovered at the kunoichi's feet, and he couldn't think of what to do.

Kakashi was never good at comforting people. He wasn't good with emotions like Obito was. He wasn't good with people like Obito was. He never had the skills that he knew he needed for normal human interaction. He didn't need them to become a good shinobi...although he had never thought about using them to become a _great _shinobi. No one had really asked him for his feelings before.

He remembered only staring at Rin's back, back then. Her thoughts went out to Obito, wherever he was. Her overwhelming sadness was as strong as these emotions that now attacked his heart. They were the same. Rin and Sakura's emotions. Sakura's sadness. Even now, all he could do was stare at her back with that same blank stare.

"Sakura." The silent name hung in the air before sending the girl's gaze to him. Sasuke. Dark eyes, dark hair and the unmistakable voice of a dead shinobi...Sasuke had called out to her, and for a moment, Sakura was silent.

"Of course," Sakura said slowly, her eyes downcast as she ran her hand through the last bits of ash on the wood by her side, smoothed as much of it as possible from her hands back to its jar. She should have known that Sasori would know about the promise. "He really would..." ...break her promise for her. He was that kind of man.

Sakura understood the hatred that the Suna-nin must feel. She felt it with every movement, every action that the Suna-nin had done so far. It wasn't in the scrolls that Orochimaru had given to her, but it could be because Sasori was a strange case. She didn't always feel them, but slowly, it was seeping through. She heard his strongest thoughts and emotions. She had a good reason to suspect that he was up to something. She just never thought that it would be so simple.

And as the sound of footsteps grew closer, Sakura's mind wondered. Was Sasori just going to kill her now? Those were his footsteps, right?

However, as she looked up from her grey hands, she only saw her sensei standing there, staring at the boy standing in front of her. "Sa–" Kakashi's uncovered eye widened as it took in the Uchiha, and she could hear what was going through his mind. He was dead. He was dead! So why was he... "Sasuke!" Why was he breathing?

Sakura could already hear him scold her. She had broken her promise.

**T**he dark-haired shinobi looked around the bridge, the dark atmosphere of evening encircling him. He looked down at Sakura–the girl collapsing unconscious to the ground–before walking away, not a word on his breath.

In his heart, he knew that she called out to him, to the mind that used to hear every whisper of her thoughts, but he no longer heard her. Now, there was only one voice. There was only one name. Only one person called out to him. Naruto. There was no room for anyone else.

"I'm back," he said softly to himself, a little surprised that it was true. The last thing he had remembered was dying. But he was back. He turned from the girl, walked past his sensei, walked beneath the arches into the quiet village. The streets were all empty but for a few unimportant people. The dobe's apartment should be nearby. _'I'm back, Naruto. Did you wait for me?'_

**End Chapter 12**

---------------------------

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Informal English is much simpler than formal English. Unlike formal English, which is very structured, informal English is more casual, although not as casual as colliquial English. Contrary to what you might think, informal English is not like everyday speech, although it is very close to everyday speech. It's the relaxed English found in magazines, newspapers and personal letters. Where formal English avoided the use of first person singular (I) and third person singular (you), these restrictions are not necessary for informal English. When writing stories, it is best to use informal English since it's casual enough to draw in the reader and not so stiff—like formal English—so as to push readers away. Yay! This one is short. I'll try to keep the tidbits short like this. Next time, colliquial English.

Fire's babbling:

Sasuke: I can't believe you managed to do it.

Fire: Do what?

Sasuke: (points to the tidbits) That.

Fire: I hate you.

Sasuke: Good. Now that we're on an equal footing, I'm going to find Naruto. (leaves)

Sakura: Why didn't you tell him that Naruto's still dead?

Kakashi: You wanted _me_ to do it?

Sakura: I'm unconscious!

Fire: Um…souka. This might be a problem.

Sasuke: Naruto!

Fire: Uh… (sweats) I think he just found out. (turns to the audience) Review and please tell me if everyone's still in character. Everyone seems OOC to me, especially Sasori. Is he too nice or is he evil enough? I seem to be mixing him up with others. He just wasn't around enough in the manga! Arrgh!

Kakashi: This isn't the time for a mental breakdown, Fire.

Fire: Arrgh!

Sakura: If anyone wants me to kill Sasori, please send me a re—

Fire: The reviews are addressed to me!

Sasori: I'm in the next book, so there's no way you're killing me.

Sakura: Maybe later?

Fire: Just send me a review! Is the storyline getting too long? Am I dragging it out? Is it boring? Are you confused about the timeline? You know that a week has passed between the last chapter and this chapter, right? Waah! Someone tell me what's going on!

Sasuke: Fire! I'm going to kill you!

Kakashi: Fire's in an important meeting with mental breakdown. We'll call you when there's a timeslot open.

Sasuke: You're not going to work as Fire's secretary, are you?

Kakashi: (slumps) I don't get paid enough for this.

Sasori: And I'm still looking for hitokugutsu. If you have any special kekkei genkai, kinjutsu or hijutsu, please call me at— (Sakura smacks Sasori in the head)

Sakura: I told you to stop advertising, baka!

Kakashi: Ja ne! See you next chapter.

Fire: And don't forget the review!

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	14. Thirteen: Torment of the Sakura

Fire: Chapter 13! This should be the last chapter of _Wait for Me: Following_. Please don't hate me too much if you love Sakura. I know I'm being mean to her in this story.

Sasuke: That's an understatement.

Fire: (slumps) I know. It must look like I really hate her.

Kakashi: Didn't you mention in the last book that you treat characters that you like worse than the characters you don't like? That's a twisted way of looking at people.

Fire: I'm not twisted!

Sasuke: Then you like Sakura more than me! How is that possible! I'm Sasuke! You're supposed to love me!

Fire: Eww… I don't think I want to love you, Sasuke. Besides, you belong to Naruto.

Sasuke: That's not what I meant!

Fire: Well, while Sasuke tries to reword his remark, please r—

Kakashi: They haven't read the chapter yet. Best to go on with the reviews from the last chapter. (hands Fire a window from the Big Bag of Reviews)

Fire: You read my mind! (grabs the window) Now, some general concerns! Waah! Diet Soda was confused about what happened with Sasori in the last chapter! Why did Sasori turn away so easily?

Sasori: … (stares at Fire) Sakura looked like she was going to kill me.

Fire: Naturally, since Edo Tensei relies on the master's will to telepathically control the summoned minions—

Sasori: I'm not a minion! I'm a puppeteer!

Fire: Uh…yeah. Since the technique relies on the master's will, strong emotions greatly increase the effects. Sakura was so angry that it completely imposed the actions on Sasori. He couldn't help himself. (smiles) You're a puppet after all, Sasori!

Sakura: In other words, he couldn't resist my command since I was really, _really_ angry. Think of it as beeing blown away by anger.

Fire: In case you still don't understand that, think of it as a sudden Kaiten that repelled Sasori as soon as she yelled at him. (turns to Kisame) Do you think that makes sense?

Kisame: I don't care. (yelling) Just stop hugging me!

Kakashi: (sighs) Anything else to add?

Fire: Oh! I left out what Sasori did on those seven days between chapter 11 and chapter 12 because I thought it would be too boring. It takes three days to get to Suna and three days to get back. That's already six days of travelling, and there's not much to say about Sasori going to seal the ashes and running into that Suna kunoichi. She was only a tokubetsu jounin, and not really strong enough to stand up to Sasori, so there wasn't even a good fight! I hope no one was confused about the timeskip. I hinted that he was gone for a week, but I'm not sure if everyone understood. He was gone for a week! A week!

Sasori: (unenthusiastic) Yokata. Thanks for explaining that

Fire: (ignoring Sasori's unenthusiasm) Arigatou!

Sasori: (groans) …

Fire: And for those of you who were wondering whether or not Sasuke's alive or not, there's an explanation at the end discussing the theory I devised between Edo Tensei and Chiyo's tensei technique in regards to Sasuke. If you were wondering about it, read it. If you have any questions about it or you're confused about it, remember to send me a review or PM about—

Sasuke: (impatient) Here! Read the next chapter! (throws chapter 13 onto the screen)

Fire: Waah! Sasuke, don't interrupt me!

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Disclaimer: The phrase "my dobe" belongs to Fire. Don't you dare steal it!

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Warning: This chapter contains traces of insanity. For the people who like Sakura, gomen nasai. I'm going to really mentally torture her over the next few chapters. As if I haven't been torturing her enough in this book…(evil laugh). If anyone wants to know what her complete mental condition is, please PM me. I didn't feel like writing it in Tsunade's report. Lee's not a medic-nin and he won't understand anyway. If you're taking psychology or psychiatry, try analyzing her! I thought it was fun.

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**Chapter 13: Torment of the Sakura**

**S**akura had collapsed on the bridge. As soon as Sasuke was gone, Kakashi's body instantly ran forwards to catch her. The frail body of a strong kunoichi was so much like that of a normal girl's that the jounin was almost unable to think of what to do next.

But as soon as Gai ran up with Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru's efficient nose at his side, Kakashi's mind returned to the task at hand. He needed to be the old Kakashi, the one who always had a handle on everything. This wasn't a time for weakness. He couldn't show that he was troubled by his former student's actions.

"Send someone ahead to the hospital!" Kakashi looked down at the girl in his arms. "We need a medic-nin." Sakura's eyes were wide open, but she saw nothing. There were only the shallow breaths of air coming from her partially open mouth that signalled she was still alive.

There was no movement. No sight. No words. Nothing. There was nothing else to signify anything but death. Only the light breaths and the faint pulse in her veins. And Kakashi was worried. She wasn't responding to anything, her body just staring into nothing.

When the medic-team came, the grey-haired jounin fell into the background, the useless hands of a sensei unable to do anything in the midst of panic. The girl was breathing. That was the only good thing out of it all. And Kakashi didn't even have a hand in it.

**H**e had knocked, and Sasuke waited before knocking again. That dobe was probably still sleeping, or was out training somewhere. _'What am I? Nothing!' _ Naruto was supposed to be moping over his death!

"Naruto!" He shouted as he banged his fist against the door again. "Open the damned door!"

The door swung open. But there was no one there. No one had opened the door. _'The dobe probably forgot to lock his door. Baka!'_ Sasuke pushed the door open. He would wait inside until he came ho–

The apartment was empty.

"Chikusho. Naruto, you better not be playing a prank on me!" He remembered that Naruto loved to prank people. "Naruto?" He looked around. The blond shinobi never had many things in his apartment in the first place. It wouldn't be too difficult to make it look empty. All he had to do was move some things into the bedroom.

But the bedroom was empty too.

"Don't tell me he moved without telling me," he grumbled angrily.

But it didn't matter. Even if Naruto moved, it wouldn't be too difficult to find him. The blond was loud, obnoxious–especially when he had to be around him for long periods of time–and he loved ramen. If he stayed around Ichiraku Ramen, eventually, the jinchuuriki would come around.

'_And I'm going to really hurt him when I find him!'_

**L**ee came running as soon as he heard, so it wasn't too long before he came crashing through the door. He was a very fast runner, and news travelled fast when it was about Sakura. "Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" He was calling her name, but she didn't hear a word he said. "Sakura-san!"

"This is a sickroom, Lee-kun. Be quieter." Kakashi's calm voice came from within the room. He hadn't moved since Sakura came into the ward. He kept thinking that there was something he could do to wake Sakura up. For the last few days, she has lain there, the kunoichi refusing to respond to anything that they did.

"Ossu, Kakashi-sensei!" Lee made his way from the door to the girl, his eyes fixed on the sickbed. He never thought that he would see Sakura in a hospital. It was always he or Naruto who got hurt and was sent to the hospital. He never wanted to see Sakura in one of these sterile rooms. "How is she?" His voice came grated, cracked with strained effort, almost nothing like the voice that had shouted affirmation only a moment before.

Kakashi turned to the window across his line of sight, his eye staring out at the bright sky which poured in from outside. Lee wasn't the first person to ask about Sakura today. Almost the entire shinobi roster–including the Hokage and the two village elders, Utatane Koharu-sama and Mitokado Homura-sama–had come down to ask about Sakura, although most of them were young men about Lee's age. However, the jounin still didn't know what to say to them. "She won't respond to anyone."

'_Not even me.'_

Lee stared at the grey-haired man. That distant look was something that the green-clad shinobi had never seen on Kakashi before. This expression of something that Lee just couldn't name...he had never truly seen it on Kakashi's face. This was something that was...

The chuunin shook his head free of his thoughts. Instead of wondering about something that would probably only give him a headache, and most definitely a major heart attack, Lee turned to the pink mass on the bed. And he had to look away almost immediately.

Sakura was proud of her hair and her appearance. Usually, her pink tresses were so well-kept. Combed repeatedly in the mornings probably a hundred times before tying her hitai-ate around it, the kunoichi's hair now flew around her head in a static net. There were no visible knots yet, but Lee was sure that they weren't that far ahead.

That was the first thing that Lee noticed. Next to that, there was the sickly pale skin that glared at Lee from beneath that hair. It wasn't the naturally pale skin that Sasuke wore, but the clear skin of a terminally ill patient. If Lee had shone a flashlight at her, he was sure that he would be able to see every vein in her body through that skin.

And her eyes... Lee shivered to think about her eyes. Even in the worst situation, Sakura's eyes held the light of determination and hope. But these eyes were like those of a corpse. The light was gone. And they only stared unseeingly forward, burrowing through the walls and through Lee's heart. Where the concern was before, there was only a hollow emptiness, and a very large sack of concrete bricks.

Sakura's nails were black with ash and dirt, and her nightdress was in disarray. Lee was almost glad that she was hunched over herself, that the blanket was covering over half her body. If she wasn't in that state, he would have seen right through that mis-buttoned dress.

Lee only looked on with worry on his face. It has been a few days since the last time he was here. It was amazing that he was even more worried than he was before.

_The entire world had stopped around Lee. He couldn't wait any longer. He had to ask her. "Hokage-sama, how is Sakura-san?"_

_Tsunade took her glowing green hands from the girl's body and turned to Lee. "Physically, there is nothing wrong with her." The woman waved her hand in front of the girl's face. "But I can't say that there's nothing wrong with her mind." The woman sighed. "There's no unusual chakra in her system, so I can't say that it has anything to do with her chakra either." The woman looked right into Lee's eyes before speaking again. "I'm afraid she's catatonic."_

_It took a moment for the Hokage's words to appear in Lee's mind, but when it did, he was certain that he had heard wrong. "No!" He couldn't accept it. "That can't be right! Sakura-san...Sakura-san's stronger than that!" The Sakura that he knew was a beautiful, strong kunoichi! She couldn't be brought down by something as small as this! "Sak–" Lee could feel the strong glare of the woman sitting across from him, and the words caught in his throat._

"_She's catatonic. I can't change that, Lee."_

_And in the background, Sasuke was sitting in the corner with Kakashi at his side, not a word in his mind or on his tongue. It was the first and only time he came to see Sakura; he wasn't coming back again. He said nothing. And Lee didn't want him to say anything. It was partially Sasuke's fault that Sakura was like this now._

Yes! It was Sasuke's fault! Lee could think of no one else to blame but Sasuke. The thick-browed boy didn't want to blame him, to think those thoughts, but his mind still chattered away at him with those words. If it wasn't for Sasuke, Sakura would be fine now. If the Uchiha hadn't returned, Sakura would be fine. They could have been happy together. They could have returned to the normal life they had before this nightmare began, before the day Sasuke returned from Orochimaru.

But, even though the words streamed in his mind, Lee knew that he couldn't change it. The life they had...the normal life that they had...just wasn't making Sakura happy. As much as Lee wanted to put the blame on the Uchiha, he knew that it wasn't true. Even with Sakura in a state of catatonia, she was more likely infinitely happier than she was before Sasuke's return.

Chasing after Sakura for so many years, he couldn't help but notice it. Sasuke was irreplaceable. Within Sakura's heart, she would always love one man, and that man was Uchiha Sasuke. Lee knew that even if she was laughing with him, talking with him, smiling with him, one moment in Sasuke's presence far outshone anything she could have with him. One moment was enough. One moment was enough to outlast the eternity of pain tearing at her heart. Lee knew. He knew because...

'_That's how I feel about you, Sakura-san.'_

Lee's blind hands covered over the hands of the unconscious girl. He didn't know what else to do. He felt so useless. He wished that he could do something to wake her. "Sakura-san..." The calmest, quietest words that will ever come out of Lee's mouth.

He had forgotten all about Kakashi sitting in the corner. The jounin could feel Lee's pain. It was the same that gnawed at his chest. The unrelenting restlessness that urged him to save her. But he couldn't think of anything. He could think of nothing. If Tsunade, the legendary medic-nin of the Sannin could do nothing to save her, what could he do?

And the answer that came to his mind was nothing.

**S**asuke stood at the entrance of the hospital, his mind as nervous as the day he returned to Konoha, his feet planted on the same place he was standing months ago...except Naruto wasn't waiting for him inside. Naruto was dead, and he had only just realized it a day ago.

_He had walked all over Konoha, his feet taking him to places that his mind knew Naruto would go. After staying in Ichiraku Ramen for what seemed like forever, he decided to actively look for him. The blond could have been on a mission. That could have been the reason why he wasn't there._

_But Sakura and Kakashi were both in Konoha. Naruto wouldn't go on a mission without them. He wouldn't go on a mission on his own. He wasn't that advanced yet, right? The dobe could never lead a team._

_Naruto was definitely not on a mission._

_He had come across Shikamaru who was headed in the opposite direction. The brown-haired chuunin was leaving for the Hi no Kuni capital to talk to the damiyo and restore the ties loosened earlier last year. "Oi! Did you see Naruto anywhere?" Sasuke remembered that Shikamaru and his dobe were very good friends._

_Sasuke had expected a straightforward answer. The brunette usually said whatever was on his mind. But Shikamaru didn't answer. He stared at the dark-haired boy and frowned. "Did you hit your head on something?" He seemed annoyed. "You've been back for a day and you still can't figure it out?" The Hokage had sent notice of Sasuke's return to all the shinobi, although Kakashi's report wasn't very useful in this situation. However, Shikamaru was never too worried about things like the undead._

"_Sasuke-kun!" Ino sang as she ran up, her usual lovesick expression on her face. "Don't you want to give me a kiss for good luck on this difficult mission?" She stared at him, stars sparkling in her eyes. _

"_Why would he want to kiss you, Ino?" Chouji stood not far away, a handful of chips in his mouth. "He has Naruto."_

"_He's dead, baka!" Ino shouted at her teammate. "Of course he can kiss me!"_

"_Mendokuse."_

"_Nani?" Sasuke stared unwaveringly at Ino. "What did you say?"_

_Ino looked anxiously at Sasuke. "Well...ikimasu! We can't be late or all relations with the damiyo will disintegrate!" She left, pushing Shikamaru and Chouji hurriedly away with her._

But to understand what was said, Sasuke didn't need Ino. His mind had already uncovered it. He had suspected it while searching for him. He had feared it.

Sasuke had died first...so he had no way of knowing. The blond shinobi who held him at his death was gone. The dobe who had sat in perfect health at the time of his death was dead.

'_Chikusho! Why do you play these games with me!'_ He was even angrier than he was when he found Naruto's apartment empty.

Naruto was supposed to wait for him. He had specifically told the blond to stay here, to stay in Konoha and wait for his return. He had said he would return. And he had returned. Why wasn't Naruto here?

"Kuso!"

He had thought that Naruto would be here, in the village somewhere. Naruto had promised. He had promised that he would be here.

"Naruto..." the dark-haired shinobi mumbled, annoyance tinging his voice. It was too difficult to stay angry at him. The frustration that tightened his chest was already gone.

Sasuke had thought that it was impossible. Naruto couldn't be dead. It was a trick. It had to be one of his stupid pranks. He had looked out into the sky, down at the ground, and all around the village but he still couldn't find him. He had thought Naruto would jump out and laugh at him, but that didn't happen. Naruto really was gone. Naruto was really gone, and the only person who could tell him why was in that hospital.

But he was still standing at the entrance. He still couldn't bring himself to go inside. The pressure that had settled over his chest only grew heavier with every moment, with every thought. Sakura wasn't whom he wanted to see. Sakura wasn't the person he wanted to return to. Sakura wasn't the one he wanted.

"Dobe." He should have waited, like he told him to.

**S**asori sat outside Konoha Hospital, exactly outside Sakura's wardroom window. He sat, the sandy Suna cloak holding a startlingly obvious contrast to the green leaves around him. He couldn't find his Akatsuki cloak, and he didn't want to find it...at least not at this time.

The girl was catatonic. That was what Hokage-sama had said, even though he knew better; she was only simplifying the analysis for that chuunin. There must be something else to her condition even though those words were all he heard from where he sat. That was a few days ago, and Sakura was still unconscious, although it wasn't an unbroken unconsciousness. She was just sleeping at this time.

He knew that he should be happier, more content. His body should be filled with joy. The girl was dying...not physically dying, but her mind was collapsing. Her mind was screaming in torment, and her heart was melting against the torrent of emotions swamping it.

He could feel it.

Then what was this other emotion he was feeling? Remorse? Guilt? What was it?

The puppetmaster stared into the room where he could clearly see the pink head on white pillows. From his angle, he couldn't see the jounin sitting in the corner. There was only the girl on her sickbed, her face contorted in a mix of pain, confusion, and anxiety. And for a moment, pain shot unexpectedly through his body. For a moment, he thought that he really did feel remorseful.

'_Chikusho.'_ He stared at his hands, his live human hands. _'Is it a side effect?'_ He hadn't been in a human body for twenty-five years. He had forgotten about physical pain, human emotions. He had forgotten all about things like remorse.

"I might be..." He curled his hands closed as he turned his attention back to the kunoichi. _'I might be getting attached to her.'_ And he cursed his human frailty for a moment before becoming absorbed in watching the girl again.

**D**ank dark echoed off the non-existent walls of an infinite space. At least to Sakura, it was infinite. Even within her own mind, she sat curled in a ball. She was trapped. There was no way out.

The echoes kept rebounding and flying back to her with sharper letters with which to stab her. And they pierced her with more efficiency than any kunai or shuriken. Ribbons of her outer shell lay cluttered around her in tall mountains beyond which were escape and the outside world. But the face was too slippery with blood and tears to climb over, and Sakura was trapped once again.

It wasn't that she hadn't tried to climb over that strange mountain of pale skin and pink hair, green eyes and dirt, but the words kept flying to her, sticking to her skin and weighing her down. And each word weighed more than ten Chouji's. It didn't take many words to drag her down to the middle of that pit. Her bleeding fingers couldn't dig into the mass of skin and hair anymore.

'_It's my fault!'_

'_I killed them!'_

'_And they saw!'_

'_They know everything!'_

'_They saw everything!'_

'_They all hate me.'_

'_I'm a hideous monster!'_

'_They'll never trust me again.'_

'_Sasuke doesn't love me.'_

'_Why doesn't he love me!'_

'_Love me!'_

'_Why do I have to be so selfish?'_

The words went on and on, continuous in never-ending loops until Sakura couldn't move, couldn't breathe. In the darkness, she could only strangle a shaky breath through the words that pressed on her chest.

'_Sasuke-kun loves Naruto.'_

'_Sasuke-kun doesn't love me.'_

'_And everyone can see the jealousy in my heart.'_

'_The hideousness hidden beneath this worthless forehead.'_

'_I could have brought him back.'_

'_But I didn't.'_

'_I let him die!'_

'_I couldn't bring him back!'_

'_I didn't want him back.'_

"Naruto..." she whispered through the words that clogged her throat. "...gomen nasai."

'_I hate him!'_

'_I hate him!'_

'_He can't come back! I won't let him come back!'_

'_I don't want him back!'_

"Naruto!"

Her mind threatened to explode.

"Naruto!"

**T**he frantic screaming of the girl in the sickbed woke Kakashi from his sleep. The familiar name that belonged to his blond student rang through the hospital so loudly that everyone must be awake by then. "Nan desu?" He rushed to Sakura's side, her arms flailing wildly in her unending nightmare. "Sakura!"

But the kunoichi wasn't answering. There was no way she could answer him. She was still trapped within her mind, even if her eyes were wide open.

"Sakura!"

Kakashi didn't know exactly how it happened, but he was swiftly swept out of the room by a team of medic-nin. He even thought he saw the Hokage and Shizune before the door blocked his view.

Worry filled his chest as he heard the sound of frantic shouting from the room. Medic-nin ran out to gather materials and more ran in to help, but there were only the screams of the pink-haired girl inside to drive the masked jounin insane.

**End Chapter 13**

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**Is Sasuke alive? Chiyo's tensei technique and Edo Tensei**

Fire: I know that there are a few people out there wondering if Sasuke's really alive. There's no real way to know the effect of using two tensei techniques to bring back a person. Only Masashi-sensei can tell you that. So, I'm just going to give you a theory based on my research. Remember, this is only a theory, since I'm not Masashi-sensei.

Sasuke: Email him and ask him.

Fire: You do it! He's your creator!

Sasuke: …

Fire: Anyway, don't worry too much about whether it's going to be too long. It won't be like the explanation of the advanced genjutsu (if you've read it) since I didn't actually create anything this time. This is all theory.

Sasuke: (annoyed) Just get on with it.

Fire: Well, read this if you're wondering if Sasuke's really alive with flesh and blood or just ash and dirt; otherwise, just continue on with the tidbits, the babbling, a review or just close the window.

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To properly explain whether Sasuke is really alive with flesh and blood or if he's still ash and dirt, the first point is what actually happened. First, he was brought back with Edo Tensei, and then he was brought back to life with Chiyo's tensei technique. So, I'm going to explain the part about Edo Tensei first, then go onto Chiyo's tensei technique.

Everyone knows what Edo Tensei does. It pulls dead souls from the afterlife to inhabit vessels of living people. Additional facts are that the body remains in a state of minor decay after they are summoned until the second step—the placing of the fuda within the summoning's head—is performed. After that, the body is no long in a state of minor decay but is practically indestructible. In episode 70 of the anime and chapter 119 of the manga, Shodai and Nidaime are summoned by Orochimaru, but their bodies stops decaying when the kunai with red fuda are placed in their heads. The manga actually displays this better than the anime.

To address whether Sasuke's body is his own, the answer is yes. There isn't the body of another man within his body as long as his soul occupies the vessel. This means that even if there is no fuda within the summoning—like Sasori—the body still belongs to the summoned minion, ie Sasuke or Sasori. Evidence of that comes from anime episode 71 and manga chapter 120 when Sandaime blows up Shodai and Nidaime's limbs with explosive notes. When the body is being restored, there is no visual trace—bone, blood or flesh—of the vessel (human sacrifice) that the soul inhabits. There is only the ash and dirt that flies back to the body. Only after the soul is removed from the body does the body return to its individual components: ash, dirt, and a human body.

Next, there's Chiyo's tensei technique. This technique transfers the life of the user for one who is already dead. In this case, Chiyo transfers her life for Sasuke. Some of you might wonder how this can happen since Chiyo is dead too. That makes no sense, right? Well, here's the explanation.

Since Chiyo was brought back with Edo Tensei, her soul was restored to her body. Edo Tensei is a resurrection technique, just like Chiyo's tensei. The only difference was that they work on different levels—in different areas—and the human sacrifice varies. For the human sacrifice, Edo Tensei uses others while Chiyo's tensei uses the user. As long as there is a soul to exchange for another, there shouldn't be a problem.

Regarding Sasuke, Chiyo's tensei technique should restore his life completely where Edo Tensei is incomplete; hence, Edo Tensei requires the summoned spirit to obey a master and the resurrection isn't permanent; their time in the living world depends on whether or not they are needed by their master. Restoring Sasuke is the same as "breathing life into a hitokugutsu" as stated by Chiyo in manga chapter 274 (there's no anime episode for this yet). Edo Tensei provided the body, and Chiyo's tensei provided life.

As to whether or not Sasuke is flesh and blood, or ash and dirt, the answer is flesh and blood. This comes from the fact that Chiyo said she could bring a hitokugutsu back to life. This means the puppet would have a _real _body; otherwise it would just be another form of hitokugutsu, like Sasori's puppet form and Sasori did say that he's "not human, or a puppet," (manga chapter 275). Evidence of creating a real body comes from manga chapter 274 again. When Chiyo healed Sakura with this technique, several things had to happen in order for it to be successful. First, the wounds in Sakura's body from the sword—ie the internal organ that Sasori had pierced—must heal. Sakura had already used most of her chakra fighting Sasori and healing major wounds from earlier. If Sakura had chakra left, she would have healed herself on her own, and she wouldn't need Chiyo to use her technique. If the wound remains open, Sakura would have bled to death anyway. Second, Chiyo must restore the blood in Sakura's body. Sasori had said that Sakura had already lost too much blood. This meant that even if she was healed by a technique like shosen—which would have only closed the wounds and healed the organs—she would still die from blood loss. That meant that Chiyo's tensei must create blood within Sakura's body to replace the blood she already lost in order for Sakura to live.

In order to replace lost blood and heal fatal wounds as easily as Chiyo did—without being a medic-nin and having the incredible chakra control expected of a medic-nin—Chiyo's tensei technique must have regenerated new cells. This would make the technique similar to the genetic healing ability possessed by Kabuto (manga chapter 168/anime episode 94) and the medical technique created by Tsunade to heal Lee which was enhanced by taking parts of Kabuto's healing ability in order to increase the chances of survival from 50 to 60 (I don't remember where this was but I'll put it in when I find it). Although Chiyo's tensei has a few similarities to these two techniques, the extent of the technique—reaching far enough to replace vast amounts of blood in the body—is much greater. As a result, it is possible that the technique replaces dead tissue—like the treated body (manga chapter 264: a hitokugutsu's body is not made of wood but of the person's old body) or ashes (burnt body) into a living body—and restore it to its original, unharmed state, as was with Sakura. This means that the body must have been alive once. (This means Chiyo's tensei can't animate dead things, so don't bring your favourite doll to her. Kankurou, gomen. Karasu has to stay the way he is.)

To summarize, Sasuke is alive in a flesh and blood body. With the effects of Edo Tensei and Chiyo's tensei technique, he is fully restored to the state he was before his death. He bleeds, and on the scale of humans, he functions perfectly. No emotions were left out. He even has his old arm, since they burnt the rest of his body.

---

Fire: I hope that explained everything.

Sasuke: That was the most confusing thing I ever read.

Fire: You're alive. Happy?

Sasuke: Why couldn't you just have said that. (turns and walks away)

Fire: Thanks for reading this part. I hope you're not confused. If you are, send me a review or a PM, and I'll explain it further.

---

Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Colloquial English! This should be something everyone's familiar with. Colloquial English is just conversational English, the English we use for speaking. Words that are acceptable in speech aren't always acceptable in writing. For example, "did you see Sasuke? I mean, wasn't he out of it?" The phrases "I mean" and "out of it" are omitted in written English. Fillers such as "I mean," or the repetitive use of "like," as well as vague classifiers that implies its meaning such as "out of it" and "sort of" are restricted to colloquial English and are never written on paper. This means that although you shouldn't write in colloquial English, it's okay to write speech in colloquial English, as long as it fits the character and the timeline. Writing in a style out of the time era would result in an anachronism. I will explain that further next time when I talk about slang.

Fire's babbling:

Kakashi: Nani! Lee— Lee-kun's—

Fire: (looks at the chapter) Yeah. I thought you knew.

Sasori: We didn't know he actually _loved_ her! Have you seen her! It's Sakura!

Sakura: Hey! What's wrong with me?

Naruto: Sakura-chan's perfect!

Sasuke: Naruto's perfect. (glares at Lee) Don't even think about stealing him away!

Lee: I don't want Naruto! You should be more concerned about him! (points at Itachi)

Itachi: (looks at Naruto) …

Sasuke: You too! You're dead! Go away!

Itachi: (grabs Naruto's arm) …

Naruto: Waah!

Sasuke: (pulls Naruto away) We're leaving! (shunshins away with Naruto)

Fire: Well, I hope everyone can follow what's going on. If you're analysing Sakura's condition, the symptoms so far are both auditory and visual hallucinations, guilt over herself and her past actions, thoughts of death involving Naruto's death, and a few thoughts on worthlessness. Physical symptoms include psychomotor retardation, ie inability to function properly even though there is nothing physically wrong with her body. And of course, there are the symptoms of catatonia. Sakura is unaware of her surroundings and suffer from abnormal behaviour and movement.

Sakura: Stop analysing me!

Fire: Waah! Well, I'll stop now. (hugs Kisame for comfort)

Kisame: Ack! Don't hug me!

Fire: I've been hugging you for the entire series.

Kakashi: Finish the chapter! You can hug him later!

Fire: I can hug and talk at the same time. (turns to the audience) Kakashi just wants me to remind you to leave a review. I want to hear all your thoughts on this chapter or any other chapter in this series. That means that it doesn't just have to be this book, although if you are sending a comment about a different story in this series, please tell me which series you're talking about so I'm not confused.

Kisame: Fire gets confused easily.

Fire: Don't insult me! (squeezes Kisame tighter)

Kisame: (squeaks and falls over) …

Fire: Well, ja!

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	15. Fourteen: Light of the Sakura

Fire: Hi everyone and welcome to chapter 14. It's almost the end now, so bear with me.

Sasuke: The end? Already! What about Naruto!

Fire: Naru--who?

Naruto: Waah! Fire forgot about me!

Fire: No, I didn't. It's called a joke, Naruto. A joke!

Kakashi: Aren't you being a little too defensive?

Fire: No, I'm not!

Sasuke: Ignore Fire. We have a story to continue. (pulls up the next chapter)

Kakashi: What about these? (holds up the Big Bag of Reviews)

Fire: Give me the reviews!

Kakashi: (hands the windows to Fire) …

Fire: Yay! Reviews! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Kakashi: Nothing else?

Fire: (stares at the reviews) I just wanted everyone to know that I received them, read them, replied to them and filed them in storage for later reading. (smiles at Kakashi)

Kakashi: You're insane.

Sasuke: I'm going to go on with the story now. (pulls up chapter 14)

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**Chapter 14: Light of the Sakura**

**T**sunade wasn't sure if she had done the right thing. As Hokage, she had to think about the entire village, about everyone's welfare. She couldn't just think about one person. But, she couldn't help it. After all, she was only human. It was natural that she would worry over people with whom she had an emotional attachment.

So, the antic behaviour of Uchiha Sasuke hadn't escaped her watchful eyes. It was hard to escape from Tsunade's sight when his presence practically screamed out, "Danger! Orochimaru!" But it wasn't just because of that. He had Naruto–someone that Tsunade considered a little brother–with him.

She was beginning to grow worried.

From outside her window, she could see them sitting there. For some reason, Sasuke liked to sit on the roof adjacent to the Hokage tower, and Tsunade could see everything they did.

It wasn't anything private, or anything that Tsunade hadn't seen heartbroken lovers do in public before, but she couldn't shake the eerie feeling that shivered through her body whenever she caught a glance of the Uchiha's sad gazes into the empty air and the blank expression on his face as he whispered Naruto's name.

Tsunade could read lips like all other adept shinobi. It was a required skill for spying, but she was regretting it now. She didn't want to know how much pain the Uchiha was feeling.

'_No! Stop thinking about it!' _

Tsunade tried to focus on her work. She had to stop thinking about it, even if it was hard.

'_Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking...'_

Tsunade looked at the medical reports on her desk. Even if she was Hokage, she still had medical reports to go through. She was still a medic-nin, and she still had to take on the especially difficult cases.

Like the problem with Sakura.

She had to find a way to cure Sakura, to pull her out of that depression.

The woman sighed as she went over the thick document again. It wasn't as if she needed to read it–she was the one who took care of the incident the night before–but at least it took her mind off what was happening right outside her window!

And it wasn't as if there was anything she could do to cure the kunoichi. That complicated condition couldn't really be cured...at least not by any outsider. Sakura would have to decide when she would be ready to face the world again. On her own.

**R**elief rushed through Kakashi's body when he saw Sakura sitting on her bed a few days after the incident, her eyes staring forwards as if nothing had happened. She even looked more lively, even though there was still an aura of terror in the morning air.

Then, she would continue her daily routine with the same sightless expression that was always on her face. She would get out of bed, walk around the hospital room–she didn't share it with anyone since Tsunade was afraid she would endanger someone if she did–and do the weirdest things–like rearranging the furniture, walking around the walls fifteen times, staring at the window frame for two hours, compulsively washing her hands in the sink until her skin was red and peeling, and lying on the ceiling and staring at her bed for a while–before literally falling back into the white blankets of her futon and burying herself in her protective cocoon again.

And the entire time, she was holding that little thin book.

Kakashi didn't know what it was. He only knew that she wouldn't let go of it. Even when she slept, she clutched the book tightly. He could only imagine that it was important to her. She never let go of it...not since he first saw her holding it that time on the bridge. Even at this moment, when he was sitting and watching her rock back and forth on her bed, staring forwards with unseeing eyes, he could see her clutching the book to her chest. It was still there.

"Sakura..." He exhaled the name with a slow shake of his head. He was worried, and he knew that everyone else was worried as well. Lee...Ino...Sasuke...Naruto... He still couldn't get over the idea that Naruto was worrying about the girl, even if he wasn't around. If he was still alive, he would...

The grey-haired jounin threw the thought out of his head before he could continue thinking it any longer. Those were dangerous thoughts. He could easily depress himself if he kept thinking like that.

"GomenGomenGomenGomenGomenGomenGomenGo..." With wide, unblinking eyes, the pink-haired girl repeated that word as she rocked back...as she rocked forwards. There was no other word on her lips, and there hadn't been another word on her lips for a very long time. "...menGomenGomenGomenGomenGom..."

Kakashi heard the doorknob turn and the door open, but his eyes never turned from the kunoichi. He already knew who it was. "No. There's no change," he said swiftly before the young man could ask him the question. How is Sakura today?

Lee slumped slightly as he walked across the room, a single yellow daffodil in his hand. He hadn't forgotten what Sakura had done for him all those years ago when everyone thought he would have to quit being a shinobi, while he was in the hospital with unhealable fractures in his arms and legs. He remembered that yellow daffodil which gave him the strength to go on. It reminded him that there was hope, and the source of that hope was Sakura. She might not have thought that it was important at the time, but it was precious to him. He couldn't just give up on her now.

The boy placed the flower in its tiny vase of water before turning to look at Sakura. Kakashi was right. There really was no change. She was still just sitting there, staring at nothing, rocking back and forth, and repeating 'gomen' over and over and over again.

"Sakura-san." Lee stood at the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. He wanted to tell her that there was no reason to apologize. He wanted to know why she kept repeating that word like that...but he already knew why she was doing it.

Even Kakashi knew what was holding her back. It wasn't just what she had done in Otogakure no Sato. It wasn't just Orochimaru. For those acts, the kunoichi knew that they could forgive her. But it was the impossible decision that had stuck in her mind. It was hard to get over what had happened.

Naruto or Sasuke. That was what the jounin sensei had asked of her that first day in the field. Survival training. What if she could only save one? Kakashi just never thought that it would come back like this, that Sakura would have to actually make a decision like this. Especially since Sasuke had left not too long ago. The emotional strain must have destroyed her.

"She can't hear you, Lee-kun," Kakashi said sombrely from his side of the room. "You should stop."

"Sakura-san!" But Lee really wanted Sakura to hear him. "Sakura-san!" He just wanted her to wake up, even if he looked and sounded like a fool. He didn't have to be the one to do it...but he had waited for so long. He couldn't just watch her mumble like that any longer. "Sakura-san!"

"Lee-kun!" Kakashi grabbed the boy and threw him into a chair. With a slight slouch in his shoulders, the jounin loomed over the green-clad chuunin. "Get a hold of yourself, Lee-kun. You already know she can't hear you."

Lee slumped into his seat. "I know that." He pulled himself to his shaky feet, utter dejection encompassing his heavy limbs. "I'll just go now."

But as the door closed behind Lee, Kakashi felt a cold chill come over his body. He could feel a freezing stare boring into his back. The masked man turned around slowly... "Sakura?" ...and saw Sakura staring back at him.

"Kakashi-sensei," the girl said slowly, the thick words pressing out through a heavy sob. It was the first real emotion from the kunoichi in a very long time. "I..." Her eyes were still staring forwards, blank and unseeing as round teardrops fell from her eyes with every blink. "I'm really a horrible person." Her arms hugged her legs against her chest tightly as she spoke. "I–I let Naruto die." Her mind throbbed at the memory. _'Sasuke must hate me.'_ Her hands raked against her scalp, her tight fists tearing at pink hair as her body slumped to the pillows. "I killed Naruto!"

The jounin stood rooted to the ground, his body unable to move as the girl curled into herself, the quiet mumbling sobs escaping from her torso. He tried to force his feet to shuffle forwards, but they wouldn't obey. His joints had rusted shut through the shock of her tears.

"They've left me. I'm such a horrible person!"

Kakashi didn't know how he found the will to go forwards, but he dragged his leaden body to the side of the bed and allowed himself to plop down heavily at Sakura's side. "No, you're not," he said slowly. It wasn't reassuring. She was still crying. But it was still an attempt.

'_Think of something to say! Think of something!'_ His mind was screaming. He couldn't think of anything to make her feel better.

"I'll be here for you," was all he could think of to say. His hand found her head somehow and the words softened the air between them. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Sakura curled against Kakashi's back, absorbing the calm air that only her sensei could draw around him. "I don't deserve to have Sasuke-kun." Even her words were suddenly calmer.

'_It's my fault. I can't stop hating him. Why do I have to share Sasuke-kun?'_

Thin arms wrapped themselves around Kakashi's waist. Pink hair matted against the jounin's lower back. "He'll never forgive me, Kakashi-sensei!" The sound of a softcover book hitting the ground cut through the air for a single moment, slicing through his calm nerves and sending into his body the desire to peel those arms off and run away. He wasn't good at handling emotions, and he was worse at dealing with crying girls.

'_Kami-sama, help me. I'm not good at this.'_ He laid a gloved hand on Sakura's shaking arm. It was the incident with Rin all over again. What could he do to comfort her when she stared so sadly at the stars?

"He'll forgive you, Sakura," Kakashi said slowly as he tried to keep himself from pulling her digging fingers from his jounin vest. He could distinctly feel them through the thick material of his flak jacket. "And don't worry about Naruto. He'll forgive you, even if..." He was about to tell her that Naruto would forgive her, even if she killed him. But he had meant it hypothetically, and she was literally berating herself about it. "Naruto will forgive you," he said instead.

And Sakura was silent for the first time in a long while; the senseless mumbling that filled the air only a few moments ago was suddenly forgotten. With her face buried in Kakashi's back, the kunoichi was finally calm. Only the occasional sniff and the slow soaking of Kakashi's shirt signified that she was still awake.

The grey-haired jounin made a mental note to wash his shirt later.

"I guess he would," she said finally, her voice cracking slightly through the thick jacket. Slowly, the mountain was crumbling.

**O**n the roof where no one could see him except for the Hokage whose office lay to his left, Sasuke stared out at nothing in particular. His sight wasn't the focus of his attention. No. He had other, more important things in mind.

He was focussing on his thoughts. The thoughts that swirled in his mind called forth scenarios where Naruto might be here. He tried to picture Naruto standing at his side, annoying him with his half-witted remarks, but he didn't have the imagination for it. He was a realist. He couldn't warp reality at his command like Naruto with his overactive imagination; it had to be overactive if the blond could imagine defeating him. But he wasn't Naruto.

With the thoughts roiling in his head, the dark-haired boy stared at his clenched hands. He had killed Naruto with these hands. These were the hands that had thrown that fuuma shuriken, which had held the string he had attached to the shuriken's core. It was with these hands that he had directed the shuriken back to him. It was these hands that had killed Naruto.

Within the Uchiha's mind, he could clearly remember his death, but after that...he remembered nothing. Was he happy? Was he in pain? He couldn't remember anything. All he knew was that it was probably a nice place. He was sure that Naruto was there, but he couldn't remember. Naruto hadn't told him about his death. Naruto hadn't explained why he had left. He didn't come to him. He hadn't seen him.

Sasuke had to read it all from reports in the Hokage's public library records. No one would even speak to him about it, and the only person who could actually explain anything worth listening to was currently in a state of mental and emotional turmoil.

"Chikusho." _'Naruto, why couldn't you have waited for me?'_

If only Naruto had stayed. If only Naruto had waited for him. He would have returned. He would have made his way back, even if it was from beyond the grave, he would have pried open the doorways to the afterlife and forced his way back, back to Konoha, back to Naruto.

"So, why aren't you here?"

Sasuke could feel insanity filling his mind. Insanity. That was the right word for it. Insanity. He was going insane! He needed Naruto to be here. It didn't work if Naruto wasn't here. It wasn't right if Naruto wasn't here. No matter what he did...if he felt inadequate...if his brother was threatening him...if he was in pain...if he tried to kill him...if he left for Orochimaru without a word of goodbye...if he was gone for almost three years without a word of explanation...if he ignored him for not apparent reason...if he left...if he died...if he did anything...Sasuke always knew that Naruto would be here. Naruto would be waiting for him here. Naruto wouldn't care, as long as he was still Sasuke inside, as long as he returned to him.

That was why Naruto had to be there. Somewhere in Konoha, Naruto was waiting. Sasuke could feel it. Even with frantic insanity seeping into his mind, he could see it. He would bring Naruto back. He would tear him from the heavens. This blond star would fall, and he would stay with him. Even if Naruto should hate him until the day he died–again–Sasuke couldn't bear to lose him.

**End Chapter 14**

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Here's slang! I don't know if there are a lot of people reading this one since it's about something everyone knows well, but written slang is slightly different from spoken slang. If you didn't already know, it's best to avoid slang when writing, because slang is a temporal thing; it changes as time passes. Words that have a meaning in slang during one decade will no longer have that meaning in another decade. So in order to keep your writing comprehensible, it's best to leave slang out. However, there is an exception. The exception has two points, a pro for slang, and a con against it, and they both deal with anachronisms. Anachronisms place persons, events, object or customs out of their proper time. For example, since there aren't any cars or mechanical devices like guns in Naruto—not even a horse—there is no reason to make any reference to cars, mechanical devices or even a horse in your story. That would make no sense. So not only should you avoid writing about them, you should avoid using them in your devices. For example, don't use, "pain spread through Sakura's chest as if a barrage of bullets had hit her." Because guns don't exist in Naruto's world, bullets wouldn't exist in that world either. The same would go for any slang expressions you might use. This is why I only use profanity I've already heard on Naruto, and I only write them in Japanese since that's the language I heard them in. The pro for slang is that if you're writing something that brings the characters out of their original universe, it's a good way to anchor them to their new reality. It might be difficult to imagine Naruto in a middle school uniform since the normal image of him with his orange outfit and hitai-ate is so ingrained into our minds from watching hours of Naruto and reading the manga several hundred times, but if he was speaking differently, or if the writing style conveys the images properly—not just with descriptions of their surroundings, etc—then the readers will receive the message. I hope that wasn't too long. Gomen nasai for the long explanation. I'm trying to be thorough.

Fire's babbling:

Fire: Tell me honestly, Sasuke. Was that too long?

Sasuke: Too long? OF COURSE IT WAS TOO LONG, BAKA!

Fire: (cowers behind Kisame) Kowai.

Sasuke: Stop hiding behind him! It's disgusting!

Itachi: (sneaks up behind Naruto) …

Naruto: Aaah! Sasuke! (tries to wrench his arm out of Itachi's grasp)

Sasuke: (grabs Naruto from Itachi) Don't even think about it!

Kakashi: Did you have to explain anachronisms with slang? I thought it was a little too much.

Fire: I had to. :( If I didn't, people would wonder why I'm talking about slang when everyone already knows what it is!

Sasori: Why aren't I in this chapter?

Fire: Really? (looks at the story) Waah! You're not!

Sasori: (pulls out Orochimaru) Write me in this chapter!

Orochimaru: (clicks) _Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. _

Sakura: (punches the Orochmaru hitokugutsu and sends its limbs flying in every direction) It's refreshing not to have you around, baka!

Sasori: And why are you cheating on me!

Sakura: Cheating on you? This is a KakaSaku!

Sasori: (glares at Kakashi) I don't like you.

Kakashi: (glares at Sasori) I don't trust you.

Sasori: (glares at Kakashi) …

Kakashi: (glares at Sasori) …

Sasuke: Is it just me or do you like old men, Sakura? You know that Sasori's older than Orochimaru, right?

Sakura: He's not that old!

Fire: He was in his twenties when Chiyo saw him in Kawa no Kuni and she said that he hadn't changed from when he left. That meant that he was in his twenties when he left. Assuming that he was only twenty-five at the time, that was twenty years before the beginning of the series. That would mean he was twenty-five plus twenty before timeskip. That makes him forty-five. After timeskip, which was about three years, that makes him forty-eight.

Sakura: See!

Kakashi: (smug tone) That's still older than me by twenty years.

Sasori: I look younger. (glares at Kakashi)

Fire: Waah! Save it for the third book! (turns to the audience) Please review and tell me what you think. The next chapter is the last chapter, and there's an epilogue for the SasuNaru fans or just anyone who wants to know Sasuke's thoughts before going into the next book. It will definitely help you understand what he's doing better if you read it. But I'm warning you now, the epilogue is yaoi and if that's not for you, why are you even reading this series!

Kisame: Waah! Stop hugging me so tight! (trying to unsuccessfully pry Fire off) If you're annoyed, take it out on them!

Fire: I'm not hurting the readers, Kisame!

Sasuke: That's it. We're leaving. Ja!

Fire: Ja ne! Say goodbye, Kisame.

Kisame: (glares at the audience) Samehada's hungry.

Fire: (mumbles under breath) It's a good thing I don't have any chakra. (turns to the audience) Kisame says, "see you next chapter too! Ja ne!"

Kisame: I DID NOT!

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	16. Fifteen: Seclusion of the Sakura

Fire: This is Fire and you've arrived at chapter 15 of Wait for Me: Following! Yay! If you're in the wrong window, please close the window and read the title again before clicking on the link.

Sasuke: Why would they be in the wrong window!

Fire: (shrugs) It happens.

Sasuke: (annoyed) Just hurry with your mindless drabble.

Fire: Well, this is the very last chapter unless you want some SasuNaru fluff, then read the epilogue. If you don't like yaoi, stay away from the epilogue. Just continue to the third book, _Wait for Me: Searching_. But I highly recommend reading the epilogue. It gives some perspective into Sasuke's character for the third book.

Sasuke: (more annoyed) That's enough talk.

Fire: (whispers to the audience) He doesn't want me to talk about him. (louder) Some standard information: there's always a chapter I'm not satisfied with, no matter how long I work with it. For this book, it's the chapter before this one. I might rewrite it into two chapters and re-upload it later so if you didn't like the last chapter, neither did I. Now we're on the same page. I'll do a few revisions to improve the continuity but the storyline won't really change. There will just mysteriously be a new chapter one day. Don't be too disturbed if it has the same name as the prologue. I plan to put the extra chapter between the last chapter and this chapter, so there will be sixteen chapters, a prologue and an epilogue in total when I revise this book. Just keep track of the names of each chapter. I won't be changing those.

Sasuke: (still annoyed) I said enough talk!

Kakashi: (holds out a review from the Big Bag of Reviews) …

Fire: You didn't even need me to ask today. Are you in a good mood, Kakashi?

Kakashi: (smiles) Yes. (waves to Darkykimanoi) Hi, Aki-san!

Fire: (sighs) Now he's carrying it into the stories. What if they're not reading this book, baka! (slaps Kakashi in the head)

Kakashi: Stop being so violent and read the review.

Fire: Oh, yes! (reads) I know I'm mean to Kisame, but he likes it.

Kisame: (yelling) I DO NOT!

Fire: Okay…I don't want him to run away.

Kisame: That's an understatement.

Sasuke: Use a leash and collar.

Fire: Sharks don't have necks.

Kisame: I'm a shark-man! I have a neck!

Fire: And I don't want anyone to steal him away from me. Is that selfish? (turns to Kisame)

Kisame: Yes! Stop hugging me!

Fire: Moving on! (takes second window from Kakashi) I know I'm mean to Naruto. Gomen nasai. I can't seem to find any of the muses who want to bring him back!

Sasuke: Ahem! (annoyed)

Fire: And there are a million obstacles in Sasuke's way. He'll come back this chapter so be patient. The next book will have some actual SasuNaru and the foreshadowing of KakaSaku in this book carries over to the next book. If you don't like one of the two pairings, I'm also taking suggestions for Sakura pairings in addition to the KakaSaku so send them in and I'll put them in. All pairings are welcome as long as the characters are still alive.

Sasuke: That's enough talk!

Fire: Waah! Before we go on, if anyone was reading about Naruto dying and saying that it's not possible, I wrote an explanation. It's at the end of this chapter so if you were curious, read it. But I'm warning anyone who is even thinking of read the explanation that there will be science and there will be medicine in it. If you don't like either of these things, you might want to stay away from the explanation.

Sasuke: (impatient) End it already!

Fire: And as always, thanks for all your reviews! I love reading them and I will definitely reply to all of them!

Sasuke: Now, read this! (presses the next chapter onto the window)

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Disclaimer: The "Kyuubi theory" belongs to Fire. I'm not sure if you'll understand it so don't try to use it without asking first. I might put up an explanation in the next book. Just PM me or send me a review if you don't know what I'm talking about and I'll explain it to you.

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Warning: The "Kyuubi theory" developed in this chapter will be revived in the next book. If you really don't understand it, tell me in the review or in a PM (private message) and I'll either email or PM you an explanation, or put an explanation in the next book. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll understand better in the next book. It's the problem Sasuke talks about when he tries to resurrect Naruto.

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Warning: Contains excessive metaphors. If you thought about analyzing my work, this would be the time to do it.

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Warning: Bored of these yet? Well, this one is necessary. I don't really know what fluff is but I think some parts in this chapter and the epilogue will count as SasuNaru fluff. If you don't really like that sort of thing and only came to read the parts about KakaSaku or just because you want to see Sasori annoy Sakura, gomen nasai! Don't hit me with your power ninjutsu! I have no chakra!

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**Chapter 15: Seclusion of the Sakura**

**K**akashi didn't know what he was doing anymore. His body had moulded against the form of his chair, rooting him in place. Everything was distant, too far away to sense. All he could do was see and think.

As he looked down at the pink-haired kunoichi sleeping serenely in her bed, he could only stare with mild disbelief. The girl had changed completely from what she was the day before. All traces of the Sakura who was trapped within her mind were gone.

Soon, she would return to his team.

Knowing that, relief rushed through his body. The sun had set recently and soon he would have to leave, but he knew he wouldn't have to worry anymore. Sakura had recovered. Those mental scars were gone.

That was what he believed, even though he knew that it was probably untrue. Mental scars weren't this easy to heal. They were still there, even if her eyes were dry and her face brightened with new smiles. He knew that it wasn't going to be so easy.

But his selfish side wanted to believe. He wanted the stress he felt over this kunoichi to subside...even if it was temporary.

The grey-haired jounin pushed himself to his feet, his body unstable from a long time of sitting. His masked face looked down at the girl for a moment before pulling his body out the door. His mind still refused to believe that she was suffering.

At that time, he refused to believe that she wasn't better. He had waited for her to wake and smile, and return with him to the life they had before. They were a team and now that Sasuke was back, they could be a team again...even if Naruto wasn't really there.

That was a fantasy too, but Kakashi preferred to believe it. At least for now, he was going to believe that Sakura would return to him. That was why when she wakes, he couldn't be there.

**M**orning came, and Sakura awoke alone to an empty sickroom. She didn't know what she was expecting–her sensei wasn't going to watch her sleep until morning–but she did expect to thank him. He had listened to her pitiful tears and comforted her. That must have been uncomfortable...especially for a man devoid of most emotions.

'_Just like Sasuke-kun.'_

But she pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind and sat up, her hand on her head, holding pink locks of hair from her face. With past pains already fading from Sakura's memory, she felt a tug on her mind. For a moment, she was confused. This was an emotion she hadn't felt for awhile. This was... This was...

"Sasori?" She looked out the window at the tree, but there was only a swirl of sand in the wind to signify the Suna-nin's departure. _'Oh, yeah. I said I didn't want to see him ever again.'_ She stared down at the thin book in her hand. Her mood was lighter than the day before. She was calmer. _'Baka. You can't take what was spoken in anger seriously.'_ The tenseness within her chest was gone.

"So...you really are a girl. Forgiving and everything," Sasori said as he gazed down at Sakura.

The girl screamed, her hand falling to her side for a kunai that wasn't there. She wasn't wearing a kunai pouch.

Sasori sat on her bed, next to her, too close for comfort.

And Sakura's eye twitched with suppressed anger. "What are you doing?"

"I'm obviously baking a cake," he said, even though he was visibly sitting. Sasori leaned back, crunching her hand beneath him. His first impression of this girl was that she wasn't really a girl. He remembered that day in the caves of Kawa no Kuni. Her strength was too great to be that of a girl. "What kind of cake do you want?" But she was obviously a girl now.

Sakura pulled her annoyed hand from beneath Sasori's... She didn't want to think about what she was touching. She just wanted to wash her hand with soap...lots of soap.

The kunoichi rose from the bed and walked calmly to the bathroom. She didn't want the Suna-nin to know that she was distressed. That would only encourage him. "I meant what are you doing here?" Sakura called out over the sound of running water and squishy soap. "I said that I never want to see you again!"

"You said you didn't mean it." Sasori looked around. Generic wardroom. Generic bedsheets. Generic pillow. Generic everything. It was definitely a hospital room. "You called me here."

Sakura popped her head out of the bathroom to stare at the redhead. _'Oh yeah.'_ She pulled herself back into the bathroom to continue scrubbing her hand. _'I forgot about that little annoying clause.'_ Edo Tensei created a psychic link between the master and the summonings. They couldn't read her thoughts and she couldn't read their thoughts, but they could feel what she wanted them to do. And if she really wanted them to do something, they couldn't stop themselves, even if it was Sasori.

"You called me here. What did you want? I don't like to be kept wa–"

"I know!" She yelled from the bathroom. He didn't like to be kept waiting. She knew that already. He had repeated himself enough when they first met. "I don't have anything for you to do. Just go away!"

"Do you want new hands? I could make you puppet hands. They won't discolour like that when you scrub them," Sasori said as he appeared at the door. Her hands were red beneath the tap, bleeding where she had scrubbed off the skin. "Are you germphobic now?"

Sakura stared at the puppetmaster. _'Waah! He still wants to make me into a puppet!'_ Inner Sakura screamed.

"Uh...no thanks," Sakura said slowly as she pulled her hands from beneath the water. She wiped them dry with the white towel by the door, leaving only a few blood spots where there was only dry towel before.

"Puppet hands won't bleed, and they won't feel pain. You won't need those gloves."

"I said no," Sakura said sternly. She didn't like the idea of having her skin peeled off, her blood drained, and her hands cured. It sounded painful. _'Why am I even considering it!' _Sakura shivered.

"You're cold?"

"No."

"Fine."

Silence.

Sakura sat down, her hand bleeding in the silence that wrapped around them. She couldn't think of what to say. _'Arigatou for helping me kill Orochimaru.' _ That was one thing she could have said, but that would only bloat the already gigantic ego within Sasori's mind. _'No. I'd better say something else.'_

And Sakura finally thought of what to say. She wasn't going to thank him for anything, but she wanted to make something clear. She didn't want to become a puppet, and she didn't want puppet parts on her body. And she would_ never_ want anything like that. Ever. That was what she was going to say.

But she never had the chance to say it. As soon as Sakura decided to tell Sasori, there was the sound of shouting in the halls. The entire hospital was in an uproar.

It was still early, very early, so the noise had shocked the kunoichi. She almost fell out of bed, her heart racing in her chest at the sudden commotion. She tried to calm herself but she could distinctly hear the frantic screams of the nurses as they ran by her room, only spreading more panic into her body. Someone was missing. And it was a woman.

**T**here was the unmistakable sound of searching shinobi throughout the village. It was too loud to be something else. The Hokage had sent out the order as soon as news arrived from the hospital. And Tsunade could only think of one reason why the woman would be missing.

Sasuke.

To be more precise, Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto wasn't around, but she knew that it had something to do with the blond shinobi. Whenever there was trouble, it always had something to do with the jinchuuriki in some way. Even if he was dead.

But total silence suddenly spread through the village for a long moment before the door of her office threw open, and the ANBU woman with long purple hair and the mask of a dog covering her face walked in, a dark-haired young man in her grasp.

Sasuke stumbled forwards with a grunt, the forceful push from his ANBU guard sending the sound from his body. He stood with his limbs weighted by kanashibari, the kanashibari of a multitude of unseen ANBU all around him, not just the woman behind him. As soon as he was caught, he knew that he had gained not one but many eyes watching him. He didn't even try to escape. He didn't need to escape.

Not anymore.

_Sasuke looked down at the pile of ash and dirt at his feet. The summoning had failed. He had chosen someone that no one would miss, that he thought no one would miss. It was only a street urchin, a boy about his age that roamed the streets of Konoha. Like all great cities, Konoha had its homeless and its beggars. _

_But it was useless. He had thought that he would succeed, but it seemed as if the scrolls really weren't as pointless as he and Orochimaru had thought. At least he knew why it wasn't working. One soul, one body. That was what it said._

'_Kuso Kyuubi!'_

_He had known that Naruto was a jinchuuriki. He had known that he carried the Kyuubi within him. Sasuke just never thought that it would be such a big obstacle for them. _

_The system used by Yondaime to seal the Kyuubi was simple. It was a slight variation of Shiki Fuujin, Shiki Fuujin with Shishou Fuuin otherwise called as the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki. The two Shishou Fuuin on Naruto's body trapped the Kyuubi within Naruto and allowed Naruto to draw on the power of the Kyuubi. It was all so simple._

_Until Sasuke really looked at it. _

_The Kyuubi was a youma made of chakra. It was a bijuu of chakra. Sealing it like that would definitely create side effects, and there were plenty of them. Naruto wasn't quite himself. _

_To link Naruto with a creature like that, through their chakra systems, was like binding their souls together. The jinchuuriki was always carrying the Kyuubi within him, the red chakra of a creature made of chakra. Their souls were bound by the chakra they shared. It was like sewing two people together. And ripping them apart would only kill the weaker of the two. That was usually the human._

_It was like having an extra sense, another person within your body, sharing your body. Sasuke imagined that it must have been frustrating sometimes...but he could never know. He only had himself in his mind. _

_But that was what made the technique so frustrating! He had to find a way to get around it! He had to find a way where he could bring both of them back. Without the Kyuubi, Naruto couldn't be brought back. Without the Kyuubi, Naruto wouldn't be Naruto...because his soul wouldn't be complete._

'_Chikusho!'_

_He needed to find a way to put two souls in one body...or..._

_Sasuke looked out across Konoha. His dark eyes couldn't see the light that waited for him. He couldn't see a way around it._

_...or he had to find two bodies in one._

His work was done. As soon as he saw Tsunade's angry face, there was no regret in his chest. He had broken the wings of an angel, and it was impossible for him to fly away again. Two bodies in one. At first, he had thought that he was crazy. There was no such thing. Two bodies in one? How was that possible?

But he had found it. The answer was right in front of him.

"Heartless bakemono!" Tsunade shouted as she grabbed the Uchiha by the collar. Her hands shook with anger as she stared into empty eyes. Empty of remorse. Empty of guilt. Empty of regret. There was nothing in him to show that he felt anything for what he had done. "Where is she!"

Sasuke could only grin at the woman. He remembered a time when he was still shorter than her, but he was the same height now. She didn't scare him. As long as he had Naruto back, he wasn't afraid of anything. "He's back. I'm sure you'd be happy, Hokage-sama," he drawled in the same voice that Orochimaru held, the same manner so that Tsunade shivered in disgust. "Do you want to see him?"

"Che!" Tsunade released the Uchiha's collar, pushing him back for a moment. "A woman, Sasuke," she said slowly as she tried to calm herself down. She had expected this. He had returned not too long ago from Orochimaru, only seven months ago. He must have forgotten where he was. "This is not Otogakure no Sato. You can't just kill people as you please." He must have forgotten where he was. But she wasn't going to believe that was true. Sasuke looked perfectly sane, and his mind was even sharper than that. She could see it, even as her brown eyes fell on the Uchiha. He was just like Orochimaru. For his goals, he would sacrifice anything. He really was heartless.

"It was one woman. I didn't kill _people_. I killed _one _person. And I brought one back." Sasuke didn't even try to lie. There was no point. She was going to find out later anyway. "It was just an exchange. No harm done. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go home."

"Yamete!"

Sasuke froze, looked around at the blond woman. He couldn't imagine anything that she said could affect him. There was nothing she could do to him, nothing bad that could happen that hadn't already happened. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" It wasn't as if she could take Naruto away.

Anger smoldered over Tsunade as she stared at him. She had a million questions in her chest, all threatening to burst at once. Why did he do it? Why did he have to resurrect Naruto? Why did he have to kill that woman? Why did she have to be–

The blond woman swallowed. "The hospital is supposed to be a safe place, where people are supposed to feel secure."

"Never do it again. I got it!" Sasuke turned to leave again.

"No." Tsunade couldn't think of what to say. It was her childhood all over again. Even when Orochimaru killed a man for no reason at all, she could never bring herself to ask why. She was too afraid to ask. She was afraid of what he would say. The possibilities scared her more than the truth could. She always said something that almost had nothing to do with the question in her mind. "Just, stay out of the maternity ward from now on, okay?" She could never bring herself to really yell at Orochimaru, and she was doing it again. _'This little Orochimaru is too much like you.'_

And a small smirk crept onto Sasuke's face again. "You don't miss him enough to kill for him, do you?" He remembered. He remembered the words that came out of Orochimaru's mouth, the curses he placed on Konoha, on Sandaime, on Tsunade. But the ones of Tsunade were the most frequent, and the ones said with more emotion that Sasuke ever thought was capable of the Sannin. "You can live without him."

The blond woman's face pulled itself into a frown as the Uchiha walked out of her office. The room was suddenly cold, and she found herself shivering. That last line. It wasn't directed at her at all. It was directed at him. Sarcasm. Sasuke couldn't live without Naruto.

**F**our weeks had passed since their return from Oto no Sato. Sakura didn't know what it was, but it felt longer. The time she had spent there was already mostly forgotten. She could barely remember what Orochimaru was really like. There was just the hatred that she had felt for him, and the hatred that she still felt for him. She doubted that it would ever go away.

Somewhere nearby, she knew that Sasori was watching her. He was always watching her. It was creepy, but she didn't mind. It was just weird. Somehow, she was comfortable with it. She had thought that she would be angry, or annoyed, or...something else–she didn't really know what–but she wasn't feeling any of that. There was just a strange peace, being back home, knowing that she was in Konoha again. She couldn't describe it, the contentment that filled her entire body. Just the sound of the busy street around her, of people at the height of day, was enough to drift her into a state of euphoria. Nothing could depress her today. Nothing could ruin her mood.

Then her eyes caught onto blond hair the colour of sunlight, shocking orange that wouldn't let go of her gaze. And for a moment, she thought that it was Naruto.

But it couldn't be him. Her mind refused to believe it. He was dead. He was dead, and only she knew the technique to bring him back. Only she and Sasori. Only she and Sasori, and Sasuke. That was it. And none of them would do it, could do it!

"Naruto!"

Sakura froze at the name, the name called out by the familiar voice of Sasuke-kun, and her world shattered.

"Kuso. You still can't do anything right," the dark-haired boy said with a sigh.

Her world shattered, leaving her in a black universe, her eyes fixed on the image of Sasuke-kun and Naruto, walking away from her. Sakura wanted to run after them. She wanted to stop them. For a moment, she thought about sending Sasori to stop them, but she couldn't move. Shards of her shattered world of peace anchored her in place.

And she didn't send Sasori forwards. She had tried to interfere before, and she knew that it wouldn't work. Sasuke loved Naruto. There was nothing she could do to change that.

"The same thing you keep telling yourself everyday, Sakura?" Sasori said from beside her. She hadn't realized it, but the moment the blond caught her eye, she had really called out to him. "There are some things you can't change. I can do it, but _you_ can't."

"Urusai." Sakura turned from the couple already being swept away by the crowd. "If you want to torture me, do it later."

And Sasori felt her mind push him away. She didn't want him to come near her, so he couldn't come near her. "I'll see you at home!" He shouted to her, even though he knew that she would probably be a while. Her parents were going to yell at him for not keeping an eye on her, but what could he do? He couldn't leave Sakura or Konoha, and he could barely stay. And her parents kept thinking that he was going to kill them all in their sleep. There wasn't a time when they didn't disapprove of his actions.

And it was supposed to be his job to protect his master, right? Sasori could almost laugh at that. Protect Sakura? She didn't need protecting.

The Suna-nin looked down the street at the pink-haired kunoichi. She didn't need protecting. At least, not physically.

Sakura had already walked far away from Sasori before she realized what the puppetmaster had realized moments before. She wasn't planning to go home for a while. If she was going to go home, she would be there by now.

She wasn't sick anymore, so she was back in her parents' house, with her family. She didn't have chores to do. No shopping. She had no missions; it was too soon. She was just walking around, enjoying the fact that she was back, and reminding herself that it was okay. No one hated her for what she had done. Her stop at Ino's flower shop was a good reminder for that. No one was holding a grudge for her leaving them.

Now if only she could forgive herself.

Sakura sighed as she sat down, her eyes falling to the bare trees of late autumn. There were still some with leaves. The trees never fully shed their leaves, not like in Oto no Sato. It was nice. It was different. She liked that about Konoha, about Hi no Kuni.

This park held a lot of memories for her. This was where she ate alone their first official day as genin. This was where Sasuke left her for Otogakure and Orochimaru. This was where she wanted to see him return. But she was sitting alone again.

'_I'm always going to be alone.'_ She could never be with Sasuke. She knew deep down that it was true. She just thought that she would have a chance to prove to him that it could work, a better chance than any he had given to her before.

"Sakura."

The pink-haired kunoichi looked up, her eyes falling on another familiar face. "Kakashi-sensei," she said with a slight smile. She hadn't expected to see him today. "Is there something..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the paper envelope in his hands, the worried expression on his face.

"We need to talk about this."

Sakura looked away, turned her attention to the trees. "There's nothing to talk about," she said slowly as she stared up into the sky, at the ground, at the empty road that passed through this area. Anywhere but at Kakashi-sensei. She didn't want to look at him right now. That would only depress her. "I've made up my mind." There was pain on his face, and she knew it.

"I want you to reconsider." He shoved the paper into her hands.

This was something that he had expected. He had to admit that he had expected this to happen. The stress, the strain on the girl's nerves, all the events of the past seven months since Sasuke returned from Oto no Sato, had all served to tear her apart socially, mentally, emotionally, and physically. She was so close to death that he was afraid of asking her to come back. If she came back, she would seriously die.

But he couldn't stop himself. He had avoided her, and he had avoided this moment, but he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't just let her leave. He saw the letter on the Hokage's desk and had to ask for a delay. Sakura wasn't in the right state of mind. She wasn't serious! She couldn't be serious! She couldn't really mean what she had said. She wanted to quit being a shinobi.

And this time, she sounded serious.

This time, she wasn't going to leave Konoha for a suicide plan of vengeance. She had requested a transfer to the hospital where she could work as a full-time medic-nin. No more missions. No more killing. Nothing but the routine of hospital life.

"I can't do that, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said as she folded the letter neatly in her hands and placed it back into its envelope. "Gomen nasai." She stared at the white envelope in her hands. "You should return this to Tsunade-shishou." Her voice was so calm. It sounded as if she had given up.

"Sakura, I–"

"You can't believe that I'd say this again?" She smiled to herself, the smile of someone who wasn't going to change her mind. "I think," she said slowly as she handed the envelope back to her sensei, "that I need to be alone for a while. I need change. I need to change." She turned quickly away from her sensei and stood up, her arms stretching to either side in the nervous gesture that Kakashi remembered from long ago. "It sounds crazy, ne? I'm a kunoichi...at least for now. Tomorrow, I won't be one anymore." Her words were calm, the words of an unchangeable future. She wasn't going to argue something he couldn't change. "To work and be happy...isn't that what we all want? For that, we need something very important. It's called passion." The girl paused as she looked into the almost bare trees, her mind moving through her memories. Memories of the Academy. Memories of Sasuke and Naruto. Memories of Kakashi. Memories of Orochimaru and Oto no Sato. Memories of... "My passion has died." She turned to Kakashi again. "I just can't take it anymore, sensei." ...the people who will never be alive again.

She didn't expect Kakashi to understand. She didn't really expect anyone to understand, so she didn't explain it. The blood that constantly covered her hands seemed as if it would never wash away. Her conscience wouldn't allow it. And her conscience wouldn't allow her to continue the life a shinobi anymore, wouldn't allow her to take on missions anymore. The most her conscience would allow were the simplest of D-ranked missions. And that was no way to live. She couldn't just weed gardens and babysit for the rest of her life. Her skills as a medic-nin demanded that she be where people could get hurt.

But that would only tempt her to hurt someone again.

"Souka." The grey-haired jounin looked down at the paper in his hands, his uncovered eye unable to move from that unbearably white rectangle. He didn't say anything more as the kunoichi walked away. He really did understand. Right now, she just wasn't strong enough to fight someone. Her mind couldn't take it.

"Sayonara, Kakashi-sensei."

But it didn't mean that he was going to give up!

Kakashi leapt to his feet at Sakura's goodbye, his mouth opening for unheard words, but she was already gone. Where she had stood, there was only the wind and her words. Sayonara. She wasn't coming back.

**End Chapter 15**

**End Wait for Me: Following**

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Note: **GO TO _WAIT FOR ME: SEARCHING _TO CONTINUE THE SERIES or just read the epilogue first. If you thought Sakura's behaviour was strange in any way, please read the sidestory, _WAIT FOR ME: AKU NO YAMI_ for what happened to her in the month between the time she left Konoha and the time she arrived at Oto. Thanks to Darkykimanoi for pointing out that her behaviour was a little OOC.**

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**Naruto's Medical Report: The Coroner's Report**

Fire: Hi! For those of you who were confused about what actually happened to Naruto, ie how he died, read this. I warn you that this is a medical report so it might get confusing in some parts, so if you haven't reached the age where you're taking high school biology, you should probably avoid this.

Sasuke: Stop sounding so superior.

Fire: It'll be annoying if I get reviews saying they don't know what pulmonary means!

Sasuke: What's pulmonary?

Fire: It's a Latin root word referring to the lungs. A pulmonary artery would be an artery connected to the lungs and a pulmonary vein would be a vein connected to the lungs.

Sasuke: O.O I'm going to leave now.

Fire: Well, I hope you understand this. I put a lot of things in brackets as side notes in case you don't know what the terms are or if you need further explanation. If you still don't understand just send me a review and I'll be happy to explain anything and everything.

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Warning: Excessive science and medical content. I would prefer people with at least high school biology (grade 11) to read this. Anything below that grade and you might not understand. Gomen nasai! I even put a lot of explanations in brackets to make it more comprehensible! I can't simplify it any more than this.

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Warning: This is all theory. If you have a medical degree and can prove me wrong, send me your argument with all your references and I'll send you my references. I'll rewrite this so that it coincides with current medical knowledge.

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Naruto's initial cause of death was the direct impact of a fuuma shuriken into his back, piercing through the lungs but not entirely through his body. Although this would have killed an ordinary shinobi like Kakashi or Itachi—as was Sasuke's intention—Naruto had the powers of a jinchuuriki. The Kyuubi bestows an advanced healing ability to Naruto—all he needs is one night's sleep and he's completely healed in the morning (manga 162, anime 93)—so it isn't believable that he would die from a simple impact. However, there are factors that made it possible.

The first factor is the healing speed of Sakura's combined Shosen Jutsu with the Kyuubi's healing ability. Although she only thought about healing Naruto, the fact that he was healed quickly creates several problems unrelated to whether or not he was still bleeding. In chapter 8 of the first book (Following), Sakura said she had healed him completely, inside and out, and she wasn't lying.

The problem is that air bubbles were trapped in the veins, obstructing the pulmonary vessels and blood flow. This is a big problem considering the smallest pulmonary vessels (capillaries) are only approximately 1mm in diameter, making them extremely easy to obstruct. These capillaries are connected directly to the alveoli and are important in supplying oxygen to the blood stream. When they are obstructed, the body asphyxiates.

In addition to this new problem, there is a complication from a previous injury. Naruto's lungs were already damaged from Itachi's advanced genjutsu in the prequel (Crystalline Mirage). The medical term of this condition is Pulmonary Embolism, PE for short (also Pulmonary Embolus, Venous thrombo-embolism, Lung blood clot, Blood clot – lung, Embolus, and Tumor embolus). The blood vessels were blocked in some way, causing swelling in the veins, ultimately affecting the heart. Long term side effects involve heart failure and death.

Together, the simplified version of the first factor was the Naruto's blood vessels were blocked in various forms, preventing blood from circulating properly in his body. A result is massive PE (the life-threatening kind, not the regular kind that could go away on its own), which leads to factor two when capillaries burst due to a buildup of pressure in the blood network.

The second factor comes from the complications created by Itachi's previous attack. Although Tsunade had treated his condition and he was stable, there is still the problem with blood clots.

Blood clots are created by cells in blood called platelets. They create scabs when external wounds appear and create blood clots (gelatinous globs of blood not like scabs at all) when internal wounds appear. Like scabs, blood clots usually go away on their own; however, there is a negative side. Blood clots in the lungs can cause problems like those seen in the prequel: hemorrhaging (another word for internal bleeding).

Where did these blood clots come from? In addition to blood capillaries bursting due to PE, when Itachi used the defensive ability of his advanced genjutsu, he sent a large quantity of chakra suddenly through Naruto's system, inadvertently causing damage to Naruto's internal organs (as was explained in _Itachi's Advanced Genjutsu Explained_ in the prequel). As a result of this, there was already a lot of internal bleeding. Blood clots are a result of internal bleeding, and with them, it is a lot easier to hemorrhage a second time. (Interesting note: Coughing up blood, sudden coughing, chest pain, and dizziness experienced by Naruto in the prequel are all symptoms of PE.)

Intense activity, like the fight with Itachi during Naruto's recovery period, can cause blood clots to rupture or have areas previously healed by sousen burst. Although sousen can heal injuries, large injuries still require rest in order to recover properly. For example, after the fight between Sasuke and Naruto at Shuumatsu no Tani, even though he was healed by medic-nin, Naruto was still bandaged and hospitalized (manga 236 and 237, anime episode 135) and Kiba was also bandaged in the same severe way (manga 235, anime 135).

The third factor is the side effects of PE. Even if healed, there is still a chance of PE recurring, right heart dysfunction (another word for right heart failure) or pulmonary hypertension (another word for high blood pressure). This means that even if Naruto heals from this condition, there is a chance that it will come back, or his heart will fail and he'll die, or his arterial (of the arteries and not the veins—arteries carries blood away from the heart and veins carry blood toward the heart) blood pressure will go up. Any of these three side effects can kill Naruto on their own, even without the other two factors or the fuuma shuriken. In reality, Naruto only had pulmonary hypertension, and recurring PE as a result of Sakura's Sousen Jutsu; surgery is a risk factor in developing PE.

These three factors combined with the fuuma shuriken killed Naruto. The fuuma shuriken hit Naruto in the back, close to the heart but not quite. If it was just that, he wouldn't have died, (manga 227and 228, anime 133). The Kyuubi's chakra would have been enough to heal him, even if old wounds had reopened. However, factor three has considerable effect on this. Because Sakura's Sousen Jutsu caused blocks in the veins and in the already high blood pressured arteries (ie. pulmonary hypertension), newly closed wounds (the ones Sakura recently closed with her medical ninjutsu) rupture in Naruto's body. His lungs fill with blood and he generally drowns in his own blood; hence he was coughing up so much blood when he was dying.

But even before that, he was already asphyxiating due to the occurrence of massive PE. More than eighty percent of people with massive PE die within the first two hours (even with medical treatment). Along with the problems of internal bleeding (where he drowns in his own blood), Naruto's chances of survival was already low. The Kyuubi could heal physical wounds, but he couldn't reach into Naruto's body to take out the unnecessary blood, or the miscellaneous objects inhibiting his blood flow.

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Fire: I hope that wasn't too confusing.

Sasuke: I'm not even going to try to understand what you were talking about.

Fire: If you want to know more about PE and it's side effects, search online. I don't want to go near medicine for awhile.

Sasuke: Why are you do mean to Naruto?

Fire: It's too easy. Besides, I like mixing his unique abilities with real life problems.

Sasuke: I hate you.

Fire: (ignoring Sasuke) Now, read the moral. Read the moral!

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Moral of the story:

The strongest emotion someone can have is hatred. It is the driving force behind progress, but consumes entirely. When you look back, what will you see but the destruction of those blind actions? Sometimes, you need to take a step—or several steps—back. Forgiveness and understanding can be more important than beckoning vengeance.

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Here is another grammar tidbit since I haven't done one in a long time. Who and whom. "Who" is a subject, the noun in a sentence that does the action. For example, Sasuke loves Naruto. Sasuke is the subject. "Whom" is an object, the noun in a sentence that the action is done upon. In the example, Naruto is the object. So, "who does what to whom" is the proper way of saying it, not "who does what to who" or "whom does what to who." Those are incorrect. Finally, a short English tidbit! Aren't you happy? I am!

Fire's babbling:

Fire: That's the last tidbit for this book. The epilogue doesn't have tidbits.

Sasuke: You're just lazy.

Fire: (ignoring Sasuke) That's the first short tidbit in a very long time. I'm glad I got back to the grammar. (smiles)

Sasuke: (yelling) Don't ignore me!

Fire: I can do what I want... (gestures to Kisame) …unless you want to fight Kisame.

Kisame: Keep me out of this.

Fire: Well, that was the end of this book. If you read the first book, have you noticed a theme yet?

Kisame: No one cares.

Fire: (hugs Kisame tighter) …

Kisame: (squeaks and falls over) …

Fire: Anyone who really wanted yaoi in this story but noticed that there wasn't enough SasuNaru, go to the epilogue. And anyone who wants to read the third book in the series, read the epilogue. But I warn you now, there's fluff. Those who want to read the third book but want to stay away from anything fluff-related, you might want to stay away from this epilogue. I wrote it only to add another dimension to Sasuke's character and to help underline his actions in the third book. Don't think too much about it. There's no storyline in it.

Sasuke: Hey! (glares at the audience) Just read it! I spent time on that!

Naruto: I'm in it too. (waves frantically for attention) Did you hear? I'm in it too! Read it!

Itachi: (looks at Naruto) … (grabs Naruto and runs)

Sasuke: O.o Hey! Get back here! (runs after Itachi) That's my dobe! Give him back!

Naruto: Waah!

Sasuke: You're supposed to be dead! Stay dead, kuso!

Fire: Uh…

Kisame: Just finish what you were going to say.

Fire: I forgot.

Kisame: …

Kakashi: (pulls out the script and hands it to Fire) It says—

Fire: Waah! How can I forget! (turns to the audience) This was the last chapter in this book so if you want to continue with the series, go to _Wait for Me: Searching_. Either go to my profile or search for it. The pairings are the same as they were for the other books: SasuNaru, KakaSaku, LeeSaku, onesided SakuSasu and there's a new pairing that I've added, SasoSaku. I really like the Sasori/Sakura pairing, so don't hate me for it. If there are a lot of other people who want them together, I might make that the final Sakura pairing. In the meantime, the main pairing will stay KakaSaku for the third book. In other words…

Kisame: You're talking too much.

Fire: Damare!

Kisame: Just stop already. No one's listening anyway.

Fire: (squeezes Kisame tighter) …

Kisame: (squeaks and falls over) Stop…hugging me…already!

Fire: (turns to the audience again) Gomen nasai if you wanted more Kakashi/Sakura moments. There are more in the third book. But until then, review! Review and tell me what you thought! Tell me if you got the theme yet! I'm going to be ending all three books in the series in the same way. And if you have a favourite out of the Sakura pairings (it doesn't have to be one that I've listed so if you want something like NejiSaku or a ShikaSaku—even if it's not popular—it's still a possibility) please send your vote to me. I can't decide. But whatever it is, I can't have a LeeSaku for this series. Gomen nasai again! I really like Lee but it won't work for the storyline. Any other pairing is fine. Lee! Hontou…hontou gomen nasai!

Lee: (cries) Sakura-san…

Fire: Send in your opinions. I'll reply to all of them, even if they're really, really long. I like those. Don't be afraid to fill up the page.

Sasuke: (pulling Naruto back into the window) You're insane!

Naruto: It wasn't my fault!

Sasuke: Stop trying to cheat on me!

Fire: Sasuke, it's the end.

Sasuke: (looks at the script) Kuso! (turns to Naruto) This is all your fault!

Naruto: No, it's not! (turns to Itachi) It's all your fault!

Itachi: (grabs Naruto and runs) …

Sasuke: I'm going to kill you, Itachi! (runs after Itachi and Naruto)

Fire: Ja ne! (waves)

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	17. Broken Wings of a Blond Angel

Fire: (stares at the audience) O.O

Sasuke: Nani? (turns to look at the audience) Why are you doing that?

Fire: So many people came to the epilogue. O.O

Sasuke: (smug) That's because I told them to read it.

Fire: (smacks Sasuke in the head) Don't be such a baka! They just wanted to read it!

Kakashi: (bows) Arigatou to all who reviewed. Now… (looks desperately around) …get me out of here! I don't want to do this D-ranked mission anymore!

Fire: D-ranked?

Sakura: You're not acting like yourself, Kakashi-sensei.

Fire: This isn't a D-ranked mission! (pulls up Kisame) D-ranked missions don't have nukenin around!

Itachi: (hold up a hand) …

Kisame: Hey! Watch the cloak!

Fire: Why would I want to watch your cloak?

Kisame: (sighs heavily) …

Fire: Well, here's the epilogue. If it sounds like it ends on a cliff-hanger, don't flame me for it. It was completely unintentional. But if it does, this epilogue runs straight into the next book, so don't worry too much about it.

Sasuke: What happened to "stands on its own?"

Fire: It doesn't include epilogues! I already mentioned that. Besides, that's what they're supposed to be, remember? Epilogues contain afterthought that couldn't be included in the main storyline. So they can also contain slight peaks into the next book…like teasers in manga and anime. (looks up at the dialogue) Waah! You made me talk too much! We're not supposed to write so much for epilogues!

Sasuke: It was all _your_ talking.

Fire: (turns to the audience) Gomen nasai! Read the epilogue now! (pulls up the epilogue)

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Disclaimer: Yay! I finally own Naruto! No. Actually, I don't. But I do own the phrase "my dobe." Don't use it! I'll send Sasuke after you! (watches Sasuke shake his head) Um…okay, I'll send Kisame after you! (watches Kisame shake his head) Uh…just don't do it.

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**Epilogue: Broken Wings of a Blond Angel**

**I**t was late. The sky outside was dark and the dim moonlight was the only illumination in the room. There were shadows all around, clouding everything in black, but Sasuke could still see clearly. There was no mistaking the blond boy who slept there. Naruto.

He could easily order the summoned blond to wake and keep him company, but he wasn't going to do it. He liked watching him sleep, pretending that he wasn't a puppet under his control.

For many nights now, Sasuke has had nightmares, too many for him to sleep soundly. His body was too weary to protest anyway. The nightmares were too strong for him to fight, at least for now.

He dreamt of the days before, when he was still a mindless slave like Naruto. He could still remember it as clearly as he remembered the day he died, the severed arm, the feel of blood coating his body, the pain that burned his chest with every breath. But the nightmares offered pain of a different variety.

Being under the influence of Edo Tensei... Being someone's undead slave was unlike any living pain. It was like being frozen and numb, but at the same time, not being cold. It wasn't the feeling of pins and needles. It was the feeling of numbness, like frostbites throughout his body, but within his body...but it wasn't cold.

And within his mind, the fuda chased him. Wherever he ran, it was standing in front of him with unrelenting domination. There was no way to escape it. It held him down and forced him to listen to the words moving his body, Sakura's words.

It wasn't a wonder that he didn't like her.

'_I wish I didn't have to do this to you, Naruto,'_ he thought as he ran his fingertips lightly down the side of the blond's face, bits of ash breaking off in the process. He didn't put a fuda in Naruto's head, but that just meant that he would keep decaying.

He didn't know if it was permanent. None of the scrolls or books said anything about it. Sasuke doubted if even Orochimaru knew. The Sannin had always summoned people when he needed them for a task or a fight. He always wanted their abilities, their techniques. Orochimaru never wanted the summoned people for them. They never stayed in the state of decay for long.

But Naruto... Naruto has been around for several days now, and Sasuke was beginning to see a pattern. The body decayed too slowly to be of consequence, to really matter. And even if the body fell apart, the ashes always came back. It refilled the holes in the body at the end of the day. But he still fell apart. Sooner or later, he had to summon him again through Edo Tensei, even if he didn't need another human sacrifice to do it.

And he would crumble again.

"Naruto..."

He couldn't even touch him. Naruto collapsed at his touch, not too easily, but he still fell apart. And Sasuke couldn't even describe what it was like, the coldness that spread through his chest at the sight of his beloved, crumbling before his eyes.

"...I promise..."

The sad loneliness that skewered his body shook his hands as he pulled them back. If he allowed himself to sleep, he would fall into that nightmare again. He would be alone again. Naruto would be dead again. And when he woke in the morning, the blond would be gone.

"...I'll bring you back."

'_For real this time.'_ A real body that won't collapse under the wind. _'I promise.'_ A body that won't fade into the air like wisps of fog. _'Naruto.'_ A body that won't crumble beneath his touch.

But Sasuke had to admit that he was happy. He was finally content. After three years and for the first time since he had left for Oto no Sato, he was calm. He was where he wanted to be. The hatred that had grown inside him while he was still alive had vanished. And it was almost perfect.

'_My dobe,'_ Sasuke thought before he drifted back to sleep, the nightmares at bay for the moment. Naruto belonged to him, and now, no one could take him away. No one.

**End Epilogue**

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Fire's babbling:

Fire: Waah! This is so sad!

Sasuke: It wasn't sad. I was just making a promise to Naruto. And you don't cry so stop doing that. It's creepy.

Fire: (pulls off the fake tears) Well, send me a review and tell me what you think. Flame me if you want. I don't care. I'll still send you a reply with a thank you and an explanation of what things were the way they were.

Sasuke: Flames are angry reviews.

Fire: I know, but I've only gotten two so far and they weren't signed. :( I really wanted to know who sent them so that I could reply.

Sasuke: You're scaring Naruto.

Naruto: I'm not scared!

Fire: Well, send me a review, even if you don't have flames. Constructive criticism is welcome, and since this is the last chapter, please sign your reviews so I can reply. I will definitely reply, even if your read this after the story is all over.

Sasuke: Yose!

Kisame: You should know that doesn't work. If it does, Fire would have stopped hugging me by now.

Fire: I don't want fangirls stealing you away.

Kisame: (hits Fire with Samehada) …

Fire: (evil laughter) I don't have chakra! (blood spurts from Fire's arm) Waah!

Sasuke: Blood drives sharks into feeding frenzies.

Fire: Well, ja ne! I'm going to get Kisame something to eat.

Kisame: I'm not your pet!

Naruto: I want to feed the shark too!

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	18. Important Notice

**Important Notice**

Fire: Gomen nasai! You all probably thought there was another chapter left, but there isn't. I just wanted to say that I forgot to add that there is a sidestory to this book. It's called _Wait for Me: Aku no Yami_. For anyone who thought that Sakura was even slightly OOC while reading this book, please read it. It concerns what happened to her while she was wandering around for a month.

Sasuke: That's a confusing sentence.

Fire: Um…it concerns the month between the time she left Konoha and the time she arrived at Oto. Watch her character change from what it was in Konoha to what it was in Oto. (turns to Sasuke) Does that make sense?

Sakura: I wasn't OOC!

Sasori: Yes you were.

Fire: As for Sasori's OOC-ness, you'll find out why in the next book. Don't flame me for that. There is a reason why he's so nice.

Sasori: I'm always nice.

Fire: Well, there's a reason why he's acting so strangely.

Sasori: Did you call me strange? (reaches for a summoning scroll)

Fire: Waah! Kisame!

Kisame: (glares at Sasori) Are you trying to hurt Fire?

Sasori: Yes.

Kisame: Oh. Go ahead!

Fire: That's not what you're supposed to say!

Sasuke: Can we keep to the script! (waves the script at everyone)

Fire: We're trying!

Sasori: There are multiple Sakura pairings in the next book. Send in your preferred pairings no matter how crazy and uncommon they are. (whispers to the audience) Vote for me!

Kakashi: Don't advertise here! (turns to the audience) I know you all want me to win! (smiles)

Sasuke: Didn't you just say we shouldn't advertise here?

Sakura: Vote for Sasuke!

Naruto: Sasuke's with me!

Fire: Go through the Naruto cast. If you want to see strange and uncommon pairings, this is your chance!

Shino: Keep me out of this.

Kiba: Don't even think of voting for Akamaru!

Sakura: Why would I fall in love with a dog?

Kisame: I'm so glad I'm dead.

Itachi: I agree.

Fire: That's all! So far, Kakashi and Sasori are tied in the polls. I'm taking all suggestions until I say otherwise. Send them in through review or PM. Just write a reminder in the PM to tell me who you're voting for. I'll know what you mean.

Kisame: You're not going to make me wear a collar now, are you?

Fire: You have hands. You'll just take them off anyway.

Sasuke: So you won't use my present?

Fire: Not unless there's a—

Sasuke: —lock on it? (hold out a lock and key for the collar)

Fire: Yay! (grabs the collar, lock and key)

Kisame: You're not putting that on me! (runs away)

Fire: Well, thanks for reading this. Ja ne! (runs after Kisame) Kisame! You have to at least try it on!

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End file.
